‘From the tractor’ is published in the monthly Agricultural Review. This column appears in the September 2026 edition of the paper.
Back in August I attended the 137th opening of the Wilson Tobacco Market and it was a great event that reminded me so much of the days when Sharon and I would haul bales of cured leaf to market.
Opening day has always been like a family reunion and I saw a lot of farmers and friends I have known for a long time and met a few I did not know. As you can imagine, everyone is happy to see one another and is in high spirits hoping for a good payday.
Like a reunion, it was a re-energizing experience to see so many familiar faces and to be reminded of why I love this job and why I continue to do what I do.
As a farmer, I know the struggle and hope behind every crop. This has been a challenging season because of the dry conditions across the state coupled with high input costs.
But farmers keep going, pray for rain in times of drought and try to remain optimistic because they love what they do.
Against the backdrop of our country’s 250th anniversary, there was also a lot of talk at the opening about tobacco being the country’s first crop and how it helped build our state and our country.
Although agriculture has diversified over the years, tobacco remains an important crop in North Carolina. In fact, we lead the country in the production of all tobacco and in flue-cured tobacco at over 205 million pounds.
As part of the day’s festivities, former Governor Jim Hunt was inducted into the N.C. Tobacco Hall of Fame, which was a well-deserved honor for all he did for the industry. I was pleased to present the plaque to the late Governor’s daughter, Rachel, who serves as our lieutenant governor, and his wife and former first lady, Carolyn, who accepted the award on behalf of the family.
We have included photos from that day on page eight of the newspaper. I hope you enjoy them.
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I hope I don’t have to remind readers that it is Fair Season! I know I look forward to the N.C. Mountain State Fair and the N.C. State Fair every year and I hope I will see a lot of our readers at one or both of our department-run fairs.
The N.C. Mountain State Fair runs Sept. 11-20 at the WNC Ag Center in Fletcher, which is near Asheville. And the N.C. State Fair runs Oct. 15-25 at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.
North Carolina agriculture is central to both fairs, with livestock shows, agricultural displays, horticultural entries and forestry displays just to name a few ways you can learn more about agriculture at our Fairs.
A number of our Got to Be NC members will be sampling and selling their products at both fairs. Buying local products is a great way to support North Carolina farmers and agribusinesses. You can find the Got to Be NC Pavilion in the Davis Center at the Mountain State Fair and in the iconic Dorton Arena at the State Fair.
I encourage you to come sample the products and plan to take something home to enjoy!