North Carolina

Specialty Crop Organizations Push for AEWR Transparency

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 13:19:21 GMT

Specialty crop groups in five states have come together to file a freedom of information request with the USDA to better understand how the agency calculates the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) that determines the minimum wages in each state for the H-2A guestworker program.

The effort is led by the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission (NCSC) and the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA), whose members have faced sharp increases in AEWR in the last few years.

Chris Butts, executive vice president of GFVGA, says Georgia growers have seen a total of 31% in increases in AEWR during the last three years. And Michelle Grainger, executive director of NCSC, says growers in her state have seen an 18% rise in AEWR in the last three years.

“Any way you look at it and slice it, this has been a very challenging situation, and as our growers are continually faced with economic pressures for all their other input costs, to have over 40% of their balance sheets tied up in labor and not be able to know what that labor cost is going to be until mid-November, it’s hard to run a business that way as their first workers typically arrive in early February to the farm,” she says. “To not have transparency of how the [AEWR] algorithm is utilized to create a budget on what feels like very arbitrary rates that are sprinkled across the nation at different regions that don’t even make sense. Enough is enough.”

Butts says changes to Georgia’s immigration policy in the 2010s means specialty crop growers in the state utilize the H-2A program exclusively to meet labor needs.

“In the southeast, there is no fruit and vegetable production without the H-2A program because there is no other labor pool there,” he says. “A Vidalia onion is touched by hand six times during the planting through the harvest — the same for blueberry production, citrus production. Our growing industries are reliant on [H-2A labor], and until we develop technology for mechanization and automation to help our workers become efficient, we’re relying on this program.”

Granger agrees, noting sweetpotatoes are a labor-intensive crop, so mechanization is not a possibility for her growers.

“Any sweetpotato grower cannot have fresh sweetpotatoes on the market without hand-harvesting,” she says. “We also utilize labor to transplant. The crop that we have is labor-intensive from the moment we start growing seed, whether that be in the greenhouse or in a bedding field, to the moment it almost hits the truck on a case that’s going retail, food service, a consumer’s plate, etc.”

So far, the organizations that have signed on to the coalition include:

Alabama Farmers Federation
Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association
Blue Ridge Apple Growers Association
Georgia Agribusiness Council
Georgia Berry Exchange
Georgia Farm Bureau
Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association
Georgia Green Industry Association
Georgia Peach Council
Georgia Pecan Growers Association
Georgia Watermelon Association
International Fresh Produce Association
National Council of Agricultural Employers
North Carolina Apple Growers Association
North Carolina Chamber
North Carolina Christmas Tree Association
North Carolina Farm Bureau
North Carolina Growers Association
North Carolina Nursery & Landscape Association
North Carolina Strawberry Association
North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission
North Carolina Tomato Growers Association
North Carolina Vegetable Growers Association
North Carolina Watermelon Association
Michigan Asparagus Association
South Carolina Farm Bureau
South Carolina Peach Council
South Carolina Small Fruit Growers Association
Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina

Granger and Butts say the coalition has communicated with representatives in Washington, D.C., to voice concerns about the rising AEWR rate and possibilities for ag labor reform. Granger says the diversity of the specialty crops helps drive home the need for changes.

“Our elected officials, regardless of what side of the aisle they may sit on, appreciate the value of agriculture and they appreciate that North Carolina is a state that has a lot of specialty crops,” she says. “Our coalition, when we filed — it has since grown — it was 30 organizations representing five states and 13 unique different crops, as well as eight different state and national member advocacy groups. That diversity really excited our representatives in Congress, because it gave them something more to talk about.”

Granger says a great way for those in the fresh produce industry to help communicate the coalition’s concerns is quite simple. Communicate with elected officials and community members about the vital role that agriculture has in this country.

“There’s a lot of people that we interact with, who don’t quite grasp how reliant we are on labor,” she says. “Not all of these people are not that terribly far removed from agriculture. I’m constantly amazed, but I patiently provide information and education on how uneducated the American consumer is today about what it takes to have fresh food, quality food, safe food and affordable food on their plate. It doesn’t magically just show up at the grocery store.”

Butts says another way for those in the fresh produce industry can help elevate this cause is to get involved.

“If they’re not a member of that state or local organization that signs on the support coalition, join your organization and support them,” he says. “Then ask your regional organization, ‘What are you doing for these efforts, and how can we participate?’”

ARA Legislator of the Year Award: Representative David Rouzer

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 14:51:08 GMT

For his support of ag retailers, U.S. Representative David Rouzer (R-NC) has received one of ARA’s annual Legislator of the Year awards.

“Rep. Rouzer’s leadership has promoted policies that help to protect ARA member companies’ freedom to operate profitably as they deliver essential services and products to their farmer customers when they need it,” says ARA president & CEO Daren Coppock.

Coppock explains Rouzer sponsored the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2023, which brought about important permitting reform legislation to reduce the regulatory burdens impacting ARA members.

“ARA looks forward to continuing to work with Rep. Rouzer and his colleagues in Congress to advance ARA’s public policy priorities established by our membership,” Coppock says.

Each year, ARA recognizes two legislators who have championed the issues of importance to agriculture and agriculture suppliers.

“It is an honor to be recognized with the Legislator of the Year award by ARA,” Rouzer says. “Agriculture retailers ensure our country’s producers have the tools and products necessary to feed and clothe the world. I remain committed in supporting our agriculture retailers, farmers and ranchers, and the supply chain which ensures America has the most abundant and affordable food supply in the world.”

Your Next Read: ARA Legislator of the Year Award: Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson

Newly Renovated Greensboro Facility Opens As Headquarters of Syngenta Crop Protection

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:15:53 GMT

Syngenta is swinging the doors open on its newly renovated Greensboro, North Carolina facility - the headquarters of Syngenta Crop Protection.

The location, known as the company’s Swing Road campus, spans 70 acres and houses 17 structures for a total of more than 470,000 sq. ft. Nearly half of that square footage is new or renovated.

Syngenta’s newly renovated Greensboro facility

(Syngenta / Cristian Garnier)

Here’s a breakdown of what some of that space is allocated to:

85,624 sq. ft. in new offices
100,456 sq. ft. in renovated laboratory space
35,933 sq. ft. in new laboratory space

“Farmers all over the world must feed, clothe and fuel more people than ever before,” said Vern Hawkins, president of Syngenta Crop Protection North America. “The Greensboro-area team does important work helping American farmers protect their crops sustainably. This team remains committed to living and working in the Triad, and supporting community organizations that benefit our friends and neighbors.”

This project has been in the works since 2020 when Syngenta began re-evaluating the space, and the says it’s been a collaboration among city, county, state and company leaders.

“The grand opening of Syngenta’s North America crop protection headquarters is a testament to the strength and potential of Greensboro as a hub for innovation,” said Greensboro Chamber of Commerce president & CEO Brent Christensen. “Syngenta has long been a pillar of our community, and this state-of-the-art facility solidifies their commitment to the region and positions us as a leader in the agricultural technology sector. We’re excited to see how this investment in cutting-edge technology and talent will drive growth and collaboration, both locally and globally.”

NC Attorney General Urges SCOTUS to Take Up Ag-Gag Law

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 19:02:50 GMT

The North Carolina State Attorney General’s Office has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of North Carolina’s ag-gag law, twice struck down by lower courts as unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds.

But animal activist groups including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and other opponents of the law told the high court the Fourth Circuit’s ruling should stand.

In 2015, North Carolina passed the Property Protection Act to prevent activists from misrepresenting themselves in order to gain access and secretly film activities in the plants. It allowed courts to assess civil penalties of $5,000 per day on employees who documented alleged wrongdoing – in video, audio, or written work – from a business’s non-public areas, and then passed that information to anyone besides the employer or law enforcement.

Two years later, a federal judge declared the law violated Constitutional provisions protecting free speech.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, along with the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in May. The state argued a Supreme Court decision is necessary to clarify the various courts’ legal interpretations, as well as the nation’s “patchwork” of similar laws. In a half-dozen other states, the courts have also struck down the laws as unconstitutional or greatly limited their scope, NC News Online reports .

Last week, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Animal Defense Fund and several other groups responded in a court filing. They argue the law unconstitutionally suppresses their right to conduct undercover animal-cruelty investigations and to publicize what they learn, Law360 reports .

The activist groups claim the law restricts employees from talking publicly about what’s happening at their workplace or in areas of their workplace that are not open to the general public. They contend that the law even tries to penalize actions like reporting problems to government agencies or speaking out about important issues in front of lawmakers.

The state argued that certain types of speech, like audio-visual recordings, should not be protected by the First Amendment in certain situations. The state also questioned whether the First Amendment should apply at all on private property, regardless of the type of speech involved.

In separate petitions for writ of certiorari, North Carolina and the Farm Bureau said the First Amendment does not protect the animal and environmental groups’ potentially illegal activities as defined by the act, Law360 reports.

“The animal groups slammed the Farm Bureau and state’s arguments. They said the state conceded audiovisual recording is typically ‘protected speech’ while at the same time arguing any such recordings should be excluded from First Amendment protection when it occurs as part of the groups’ work,” the Law360 article said.

The North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation’s Secretary and General Counsel, Jake Parker, said the animal groups’ brief underscored why the Supreme Court should take the case.

“Fundamental private property rights are at stake here, and the activists misread the Supreme Court’s First Amendment cases to justify blatant invasions of private businesses,” Parker said in a statement Thursday. “This case is an excellent vehicle for the court to clarify that the First Amendment does not immunize trespassing and theft.”

Read More:

Kansas’ ‘Ag-Gag’ Law Denied a Revisit by Supreme Court

“Targeted” Law in Iowa Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Judge

https://www.meatingplace.com/Industry/News/Details/110997

Want a Slice of Nostalgia? Try Road Tripping to Andy Griffith's Real Hometown Now Known as Mayberry

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:21:08 GMT

The Andy Griffith Show provided viewers with a slice of nostalgia for eight seasons. Reruns of the show help the popular television series still gain fans today. And if you’re looking to take a step back in time to visit Mayberry, a town in North Carolina can make those dreams come true.

“The connection is Andy was born and raised here. And so you get a lot of Mayberry fans looking for Mayberry,” says Mike Cockerham, owner of Mayberry Squad Car Tours.

Andy Griffith actually grew up in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, but many people just refer to it as Mayberry since that’s the place Andy lived on the long running tv show. For at least a couple of decades, there really wasn’t much of Mayberry that you could find in Mt. Airy, save some common street and place names. When more tourists began coming here in the late 90s and early 2000s, Cockerham had an idea.

“I’m an old car nut been restoring and fixing up cars since I was a teenager, and so I said, ‘Hey I’m going to get me one of those old Ford Galexies like they used on the show and fix it up like a squad car and drive people around town in it,’” says Cockerham.

That’s how the Mayberry Squad Car Tours were born. Mike has restored several old Ford Galaxies now, making them appear just like the ones Andy and Barney used to patrol Mayberry.

“We start at Wally’s filling station here that’s our home office, and we leave here and go out to our granite quarry, it’s about a mile out of town,” says Cockerham. “Mt. Airy is known as the Granite City. That’s our official nickname.”

Mike and his drivers are known to let the siren wail as they make the run through Mt. Airy’s streets, a tour that takes you past places like the Snappy Lunch and other iconic stores from the show. You go by Andy’s old school where Andy first began to sing and perform, a place that today brings many visitors to snap a picture with Andy and Opie. But back at Mike’s headquarters is a real gem, a place that appears strait from your tv set.

“It’s a recreation of the courthouse, yeah it’s pretty close, it’s just a recreation that’s free and people come in and take pictures,” he says.

The inside of the building is a perfect replica of Andy’s sheriff’s office, complete with the jail cells that held folks like Otis. Plus, he’s recreated many other buildings and scenes often seen on the show. It’s a place where people enjoy spending time, remembering the story lines and laughing about some of their favorite episodes. Although it’s been decades since the show was produced, the people just keep coming.

“People say it’s going to die out, but I’ve not seen any indication of that, in fact we see a lot of young folks that are into the show,” says Cockerham.

If you’re looking to visit Mayberry, there’s a lot more to do. You can check out all the sites and plan your stay online.

You can also hear and see more American Countryside travels online, possibly sparking more trip ideas to experience the best of rural America.

How One North Carolina Family Turned an Old Tobacco Farm into a Blooming AgriTourism Business

Sat, 15 Apr 2023 00:53:53 GMT

Art Johnson’s farm has been in the family about a century now. What was once a tobacco farm in Kernersville, North Carloina, is now a thriving agritourism business.

“My grandfather Ash Johnson purchased the property in 1925 and moved from the other side of Kernersville to here,” says Art Johnson, owner of Dewberry Farm . “It was about 86 acres. It was a basic tobacco farm.”

Art didn’t grow up on the farm, but was nearby and always loved coming here to hunt and fish, and perhaps someday make it a place he could call home. That dream came true in his adult years when he was able acquire some of the farm acreage and build a home. He married his wife, Wendy, and they hosted weddings on their property.

“And then one day, Wendy was reading through a magazine and saw a tulip farm up in Virginia and she says that sounds like a great idea,” adds Johnson

Art wasn’t against the idea, but he wasn’t sold on it either.

“I thought it would be cool, but how much hard work is that,” says Johnson.

Tulips became the goal for the farm, but there was another crop to be planted first—sunflowers. That you-pick business went well, so next up at Dewberry Farm was the dream to grow tulips.

They planted 42,000 bulbs that first year, 50,000 the next. It took about 12 days with 12 people to plant them all. They invested in a planter the next year which still requires labor but increases the pace. They plant new bulbs by Thanksgiving every year to insure the best and most beautiful crop. Today they plant over 100,000 bulbs they get from Holland.

“You need a premium bulb, a mature bulb, that’s been grown and cared for properly and so we’re wanting that one bloom per bulb and so we get about a 98% bloom ratio,” he says.

They have up to 1,000 people per day visit the farm on the weekends this tie of year. They use a timed ticket system to insure not too many people show up at one time and everyone gets to enjoy the farm and the tulips. They also have you pick sunflowers in the summer.

Art’s dad will turn 99 this year. He is amazed that so many people come to this place he’s known for almost a century.

“But as time goes on and he sees how consistent we are with the number of people we get in here and how well we do with the crops, he’s just amazed. He wishes his parents could see what we did with an ol’ poor tobacco farm,” says Johnson.

The tulip season lasts about three weeks each Spring at Dewberry Farm, bringing people of all ages to this family operation, growing a crop that delights those who visit.

To hear more from Andrew’s travels, watch more American Countryside features .

Partnerships in North Carolina Help Stevia Business Boom

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 19:42:25 GMT

PureCircle, stevia producer for beverage and food industries, is expanding its stevia production with the StarLeaf variety. The company says it sources stevia from plants grown around the world but this year’s dramatic production increase is from North Carolina farmers.

Nearly 16,000 tons of the company’s stevia will be StarLeaf—a 200% increase over 2017.

Farmers in North Carolina are converting old tobacco fields to grow StarLeaf stevia varieties. This provides farmers with access to a new market and puts what could have been fallow land back into production.

The variety PureCircle is pushing—on about 80% of their contracted acres—StartLeaf is said to yield 20 times more than others while maintaining taste. The company says it will increase StarLeaf to 90% of its production in 2019.

“The food and beverage industry has seen a steady increase in product launches featuring stevia as an ingredient, as evidenced by the 10% increase in 2017 as compared to 2016 according to Mintel [global market research and insight company],” PureCircle says in a recent press release. “In 2017 alone, about 3,500 products launched with stevia.”