‘From the tractor’ is published in the monthly Agricultural Review. This column appears in the August 2026 edition of the paper.
The N.C General Assembly passed a $34.4 billion state budget on July 2, and it was signed into law by Governor Josh Stein on July 7.
I wanted to share a brief rundown of some of the highlights for agriculture and the department. Candidly, we did not receive everything we asked for, but I sincerely appreciate the support the legislators have shown for our state’s agricultural industry, farmers AND consumers.
One big win for agriculture was $46.91 million in one-time funding for the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. Additionally, the budget added $2 million in recurring funding for the program, which brings the annual funding up to $7 million.
I consider this a win for the agriculture community and the many farmers and supporters who rallied at the legislature back in May for the very first Farmland Preservation Advocacy Day. I cannot thank you all enough for showing up, for meeting with your legislators and for sharing how important it is that we keep working farmland in production.
Year after year, we have seen strong interest from farm owners who want to ensure their land remains in agricultural production, but funding would only go so far in protecting acreage. This one-time funding changes that.
As long-time readers know, farmland preservation has been a top priority for me since my first day in this job. Farmland loss was a significant issue 20 years ago and it remains a big issue today. I feel an even greater sense of urgency to protect valuable farmland with the recent push to build data centers across the state.
The American Farmland Trust projects that we could lose 1.2 to 1.6 million acres of farm and timberland by 2040. That puts us at number two in the country for risk of farmland loss.
Our ADFP Trust Fund has been successful in permanently preserving 42,000 acres of working farm and forestland since 2006. We have accomplished that through the support of the N.C. General Assembly and partnerships with the military and non-profit land conservation organizations.
Sometimes people overlook the broader benefits of agriculture and think funding for agricultural requests only helps farmers and agribusinesses. But agriculture and agricultural funding benefit us all by providing access to local foods and by helping keep our state green. Farm and timberland provide open space and green space that define our state and make it so attractive, provide wildlife habitat, plus sequesters carbon and provide other environmental benefits.
Protecting farmland today is a visionary benefit to all North Carolinians.
Other budget highlights include:
- $7 million for wildfire mitigation and risk reduction activities for Hurricane Helene impacted counties;
- $2 million in additional non-recurring funds for the Agriculture Cost Share Program;
- $450,000 increase in funding for domestic marketing
- $1.5 million in non-recurring funds to support the N.C. Wine and Grape Council
- Additional recurring funding of $4.5 million for the N.C. Forest Service for emergency equipment repair and replacement, overtime and on-call budget shortfalls and aviation operating and maintenance needs.
- Nearly $24 million in funding for capital improvement projects involving research stations, and county and district N.C. Forest Service facilities.
We are continuing to work with legislators regarding the elimination of 45 vacant positions that were also included in the budget. These positions are not vacant for a lack of trying to fill them. I have repeatedly asked for funding to raise the starting pay for many of these harder-to-fill positions, but the low pay has led to extended vacancies and losing employees to other local and country agencies that pay more.
These are critical positions for our department and the work we are charged with doing. The vacancies include firefighting positions, engineers, pathologists, meat and poultry inspectors, and administrative support – a number of which require specialized knowledge and training.
Many employees have stepped up to temporarily fill the holes created by vacancies, and I am deeply appreciative of their individual efforts, but that is not a long-term solution.
Another change we are seeking is to address involved moving up the deadline to encumber Agricultural Disaster Crop Loss Program funds or return them to the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund. The budget moved the deadline up to Oct. 1, 2026 from the original date of September 2027.
We are continuing to work to verify losses and distribute these funds and are working through the more complicated infrastructure payments. This is the final category of funds we must distribute, and we are working as quickly as we can to get this money out. Farmers have submitted their paperwork regarding their losses in good faith, and we don’t want to cut the program short by moving the goalposts in the middle of the game.
We will continue to work with legislators to address these ongoing needs and concerns and I remain hopeful they can be resolved through technical corrections.