Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
The General Assembly is back in Raleigh for its so-called “short session,” and Gov. Pat McCrory has released his proposed budget for lawmakers to consider. It contains some new funding for the NCDA&CS:
- The governor’s budget includes an additional $1 million a year to support the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. This will help the fund continue to support efforts to conserve working farms and forests across the state.
- In addition, the governor is seeking funding for an additional position in the department’s Animal Welfare Section. This position would increase the department’s ability to help animal shelters stay in compliance with state laws and rules.
- The budget also includes funding for state efforts to increase food manufacturing in North Carolina. Since last year, Commissioner Troxler has served on the Governor’s Food Manufacturing Task Force, which recently released its recommendations for growing this sector of the state’s agribusiness economy.
One need Commissioner Troxler will be talking to legislators about is replacing aging equipment used by the N.C. Forest Service. The recent rash of wildfires across the state shows the importance of having the right resources and tools to protect property and people, he says.
He will also be working to obtain additional funding for international marketing. Ninety-five percent of the world’s population lives outside the United States, and that means a lot of potential markets for N.C. farmers and agribusinesses are in other countries.
And on the policy side, the department will be working with the General Assembly to make sure that its agricultural emergency response teams are on the same footing as other emergency responders who help during and after disasters.
To listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda discuss the “short session,” click on the audio player below.
[Audio:/wp-content/uploads/Troxler_5-3-16.mp3|titles=Today’s Topic for May 3]
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