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Sharpen pencil, count pennies in year aheadSharpen pencil, count pennies in year ahead

North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says a relief package of at least $1 billion from the state will be needed to help farmers recover from Hurricane Helene.

John Hart, Associate Editor

January 23, 2025

2 Min Read
Steve Troxler Commodity Conference
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler addresses the North Carolina Commodity Conference on Jan. 9 in Durham.John Hart

North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler encourages farmers to sharpen their pencils, count their pennies and make the best decisions possible in what is expected to be another tough crop year ahead.

Commodity prices aren’t expected to increase in 2025, and production costs are not falling enough to help with the bottom line.

“We probably have another tough year ahead of us. But we can’t sit still. We’ve never done that,” Troxler said in an address to the North Carolina Commodities Conference on Jan. 9 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham.

“As a farmer, I went through the early 1980s. Unfortunately, some of the things that are out there right now are some of the same things that caused the problem in the early ’80s, with the exception of interest rates right now not being that low like they were then,” he said.

“Looking back today, I still don’t know how we got through it. But we did. It’s going to take planning and education, [and] very careful management to get through this next year,” Troxler said. “And to top it all off, I am so tickled to be back as the commissioner for the sixth term. And I can’t thank folks enough for the support that you gave me.”

First round in 2005

Troxler, a Republican, was first elected state agriculture commissioner in 2005. He was reelected in November and took the oath of office on Jan. 1 with other statewide elected officials, including new Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat.

Troxler said a priority will be to get some sort of disaster assistance from the state Legislature to help western North Carolina farmers who were devastated by Hurricane Helene in September.

He said a relief package of at least $1 billion from the state will be needed to help farmers recover from what he called the “worst disaster ever in North Carolina.” He also said federal disaster aid is needed.

“We as a state have got a lot of work to do to get these people back to a somewhat normal lifestyle in the mountains,” he said, adding that he witnesses farm equipment being washed away in the storm.

Troxler puts uninsured losses to North Carolina agriculture at nearly $5 billion in 2024. This includes $4.23 billion in damages to agriculture from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina and $700 million in damages to agriculture for the rest of the state, mainly due to June’s drought that decimated the corn crop and fall flooding that harmed other crops.

“We can’t sustain losses like those for long and stay in business. All of these disaster packages that are out there, I hope they come together. I hope it’s going to be enough for people to get financing to grow crops again and get their lives back together again. It’s a tough time,” Troxler said. “But I pledge to you that this department is going to work as hard as we can work to do that.”

About the Author

John Hart

Associate Editor, Southeast Farm Press

John Hart is associate editor of Southeast Farm Press, responsible for coverage in the Carolinas and Virginia. He is based in Raleigh, N.C.

Prior to joining Southeast Farm Press, John was director of news services for the American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington, D.C. He also has experience as an energy journalist. For nine years, John was the owner, editor and publisher of The Rice World, a monthly publication serving the U.S. rice industry.  John also worked in public relations for the USA Rice Council in Houston, Texas and the Cotton Board in Memphis, Tenn. He also has experience as a farm and general assignments reporter for the Monroe, La. News-Star.

John is a native of Lake Charles, La. and is a  graduate of the LSU School of Journalism in Baton Rouge.  At LSU, he served on the staff of The Daily Reveille.

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