From New Bern Conversations to Washington Farm Bill Progress
June 6, 2026
| Friends, NC’s farmers and rural communities received an important update from our state and federal officials this week. US Secretary of Agriculture and Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling were in New Bern for a roundtable with farmers, ranchers, and fishermen from across eastern NC. NC Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and Labor Commissioner Luke Farley also participated in a direct conversation with those who grow and harvest the food that feeds our state, nation, and the world. Their conversations focused on the historic challenges facing farmers and their families in today’s difficult operating environment, like rising fuel and fertilizer costs, labor pressures, market access for crops like tobacco, and more. Secretary Rollins acknowledged the pressure facing farmers’ rising input costs, driven in large part by the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route, are placing on farmers during planting season. She pointed to the administration’s investments in domestic fertilizer and glyphosate production as part of their response. Secretary Rollins also highlighted the Trump administration’s Great American Cotton Plan, a USDA initiative to strengthen the cotton farm economy, restore domestic textile manufacturing, and increase demand for American-grown cotton. As NC farmers know well, along with tobacco, cotton is a key crop for our state, especially across the eastern region. Acting Labor Secretary Sonderling also discussed the Trump administration’s Adverse Effect Wage Rate, the framework governing compensation for the H-2A agricultural guest worker program. He noted that changes have reduced labor costs for NC farmers by more than 31 percent. Those reforms received an important boost last month when a federal court denied a preliminary injunction that would have blocked them. This was a major victory secured by a coalition led by the NC Chamber and the NC Farm Bureau, joined by the NC Agribusiness Council, the NC Growers Association, and the NC Sweetpotato Commission. We are grateful to all of them for their continued leadership on behalf of our state’s farmers. The farmers present for these conversations were very candid about the pressures they are facing. New Bern farmer David Parker, who hosted the event, called the meeting “very productive,” even while pointing out the reality that fuel and fertilizer costs have hit right in the middle of planting season, “probably the worst time of the year.” We couldn’t agree more, and that’s why it’s so important for farming voices to continue to remain engaged and keep our leaders informed and hold them accountable for how policy decisions made in Washington, DC are affecting those making a living working the land. US Senate Farm Bill Update Following the late-April passage of a Farm Bill in the US House, the Senate has been preparing to take up a draft of the legislation, expected sometime early this month. US Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman of Arkansas shared an update this week reaffirming his commitment to bringing the Farm Bill across the finish line to the President’s desk for the first time since 2018. Boozman also noted that about $68 billion in support for farmers, approximately 85 percent of Farm Bill priorities, were passed through last year’s reconciliation package, and that the task now is finishing the job at a time farmers need it the most. The NC Ag Partnership agrees, and we will continue to monitor the Senate’s progress closely and share with you regular updates. |