Laurinburg Exchange - July 1, 2010
A Scotland County grower says the 2012 Farm Bill should look a lot like the one passed in 2008 — it should provide a safety net for farmers without regard to farm size or structure.

Laurinburg's Allen McLaurin testified this week before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee in Fayetteville. McLaurin is a cotton farmer and farm manager for ZV Pate, Inc.

McLaurin said an effective farm policy should adhere to several principals:

— It should be market-oriented with a goal of promoting quality, efficiency and domestic competition;

— It should allow for full production to meet market demand;

— Because of the uncertainty of weather and markets, farm policy should provide for an effective financial safety net for farmers without regard to farm size or structure.

“Our industry believes the cotton provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill are working well,” McLaurin said. “If policy changes are inevitable as part of the 2012 Farm Bill, the cotton industry remains ready to work with the Agriculture Committees to explore alternative programs that can provide the needed safety net to our industry in a manner that is consistent with our international trade obligations and within budget constraints.”

McLaurin told the committee that agriculture is the single largest industry in North Carolina with cotton being the cornerstone. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, North Carolina is the nation’s top producer of tobacco, yielding almost half of the nation’s total tobacco crop. North Carolina also ranks second in the nation among states growing poultry and eggs; hogs and pigs; and cut Christmas trees and short rotation woody crops. More than 120,000 acres of land in North Carolina are enrolled in USDA conservation programs.

McLaurin added that in the 6-state region of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, the cotton industry's ripple effect is responsible for over 173 thousand jobs and generates economic activity surpassing $47 billion annually.

"Its scope and economic impact extends well beyond the approximately 19,000 farmers that plant between 9 and 12 million acres of cotton each year in the 17 cotton-producing states," he said. "Taking into account diversified cropping patterns, cotton farmers cultivate more than 30 million acres of land each year."

U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, along with North Carolina Congressmen Mike McIntyre and Bob Etheridge, were on hand for the Field Hearing to hear input from the agriculture community in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill.

“Agriculture is North Carolina’s leading industry, and it is vital for our agricultural community to have input into the upcoming Farm Bill,” Kissell said. “I am so pleased to have this hearing in Fayetteville, and thank the panelists for taking time to share information and communicate the needs of our agriculture community.”

Congressman Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania was also in attendance. McIntyre, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops and Foreign Agriculture, chaired the hearing.

It was the ninth in a series of field hearings scheduled across the country to consider new ideas regarding federal food and farm policy. Approximately 115 community leaders including local agriculture producers attended the hearing at the Crown Expo Center in Fayetteville.

Randall Jones, chief executive of Lumber River Electric Membership Corp., spoke up for federal subsidies to bring broadband to rural residents, including the 46,000 customers of his electric cooperative in Scotland, Cumberland, Hoke, and Robeson counties.

"We are certain that everyone agrees that the need for expanding broadband networks into rural America is the only way we can ensure the future economic health of these regions," Jones told the committee. "This will not happen without the commitment of our federal government."