Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
Exports play a big role in North Carolina agriculture, and Commissioner Troxler believes the state could do a lot more if it improved the state ports. He recently talked with members of the Governor’s Logistics Task Force and the State Ports Authority about needed improvements to the ports in Wilmington and Morehead City. He also discussed this topic with Rhonda Garrison.
Preliminary data show that the value of North Carolina ag exports increased 22 percent during 2010. Ag exports help boost farm prices and income. They also support more than 24,000 jobs, both on and off the farm in food processing, storage and transportation.
Troxler says the problem is that North Carolina’s ports aren’t reaping the benefits of these exports. Most of the state’s ag exports are actually shipped out of ports in Virginia and South Carolina. And that means the state is losing out on ports revenue. Improvements in capacity and equipment could allow North Carolina’s ports to become bigger players in the exporting of agricultural commodities.
Click below to listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda discuss ag exports, the state ports and how a coordinated effort to improve them could benefit the state.
[audio:http://info.ncagr.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Troxler_5-3.mp3|titles=Today’s Topic for May 3]Southern Farm Network is a division of Curtis Media Group.