A Labor Day Message to NC’s Agriculture Community
August 30, 2025
| Friends, Happy Labor Day weekend! This Labor Day, we pause to honor the heart and soul of North Carolina agriculture, the families whose hands, hope, and hard work keep our fields green and our communities fed. The 2022 Census of Agriculture reminds us that 95% of America’s farms are family-owned. That means behind every harvest is a story of resilience, sacrifice, and generations working side by side. When the agriculture community celebrates Labor Day, we celebrate not just work, but legacy… the men and women who have poured their lives into the land and built something lasting for us all. We know that being a farmer is not easy. Many of you reading this will not take a three-day weekend and the idea of a 40-hour work week is laughable (but that won’t stop us from listening to one of my favorite Alabama songs). We’re experiencing farm production costs staying well above average for another year, uncertainty around global tariffs, and a shrinking workforce pool. In all of this, the NC Ag Partnership is committed to promote and defend a strong economic and regulatory environment for North Carolina’s ag and rural communities. Now, let’s savor this final weekend of summer. I’ll have Alabama’s “40 Hour Week (For a Living)” on repeat, a great soundtrack for a holiday that honors hard work. Best regards, |
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| Tori Rumenik Executive Director, North Carolina Ag Partnership |