Troxler: Preserve farmland

Ag chief attends Camden fundraiser

By BOB MONTGOMERY
bmontgomery@coxnc.com

Thursday, August 28, 2008

State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says recent rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay helped farmers in drought-parched areas of the state.

But for North Carolina farmers to remain viable in the years ahead, he believes they’ll need a leader who can slow down the loss of farmland, which is currently dwindling at a rate of 100,000 acres a year.

Troxler, the first Republican to hold North Carolina’s top agriculture post in state history, says he can provide that kind of leadership. The Browns Summit native, who is seeking re-election this fall, has targeted farmland preservation as one of his top priorities.

During an interview with The Daily Advance on Thursday, Troxler said he’s tried to boost funding for a state initiative in which farmers are paid a specified amount to have their land protected from development in perpetuity. The program was budgeted $8 million in 2007 and $4 million this year, but needs about $30 million to be fully successful, he said.

Although “people who don’t understand agriculture” may not think so, the program is money well-spent, Troxler said.

Farmers receive some compensation for deciding not to sell out to developers, and taxpayers benefit because they don’t get stuck having to fund the infrastructure costs accompanying new development such as schools, roads, sewer and water improvements, he said.

“If a farmer gets some free cash, he’s going to buy some more dirt,” Troxler said.

The state’s agriculture chief spent Thursday meeting with farmers and campaigning in the Albemarle region. He’s being opposed for re-election this fall by Democrat Ronnie Ansley of Raleigh.

Troxler planned to attend a fund-raising barbecue dinner at John Ferebee Farms in Camden County Thursday night, where he expected to be greeted mostly by Democrats.

“When you’re in a statewide election, (party affiliation) makes no difference,” he said. “(The agriculture commissioner job is) not as party political as other offices are.”

What’s important to farmers, Troxler says, is having a leader look out for their interests in a free market economy. He understands those interests, he said, because they’ve always been his interests. Troxler is founder, owner and operator of Troxler Farms, a farm operation that raises tobacco, wheat, vegetables and soybeans.

In addition to preserving farmland, Troxler said his other top priority is boosting food safety procedures. The goal, he said, is to minimize farmers’ risk from future disease scares like the one that caused financial ruin for some tomato and pepper growers before the cause of a salmonella outbreak was finally narrowed to Mexican-produced peppers.

Consumer confidence in the food they eat is not only a health and safety issue, but an economic one for farmers, he said.

“That lack of confidence will put more farmers out of business than (any other reason) I know of,” he said.

Troxler believes the future looks bright for corn and soybean farmers — and possibly even kudzu farmers — as natural-based biofulels continue to be developed as an alternative to petroleum-based products.

He said the demand for food and biofuels is growing rapidly around the world, and keeping up with the latest technology will help keep North Carolina out in front of that demand.

“Technology will determine the fuels we use,” he said.

However, the future of farming also depends on a strong, young generation of new farmers, Troxler said. As farmland has been dwindling, so too have the number of farmers and young farmers, he said.

Money spent from the farmland preservation trust fund will help keep existing farms in operation and create an incentive for a new generation to continue in their parents’ and grandparents’ footsteps, he said.

Troxler ran for Agriculture Commissioner in 2000, losing to Meg Scott Phipps. Phipps, however, lost the job when she was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice and sent to prison for three years.

In 2004, Troxler ran against Britt Cobb, who had been appointed to complete Phipps’ term. Troxler won the election after Cobb conceded following a several-month dispute over the loss of about 4,000 votes in Carteret County.