NC Senator blogs about the Ag Chairs Summit

Earlier this month, Ross Barnhardt and I, along with first-time attendee Senator Bill Rabon, attended the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders (SARL) conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. SARL is a group of state legislators and agriculture industry representatives from across the United States and Canada that get together every year to discuss and study issues and policies affecting the agriculture industry and rural communities. I have had the privilege to attend the conference the past 4 years and have served as a SARL board member for the past several years.  
This year, we had the chance to look into several important issues. One of the more fascinating topics was on creating jobs in rural America. We met with several groups who have worked on setting up state assisted venture capital funds to allow investors to invest in startup businesses in rural areas. Capital investment and sustainable, profitable businesses will be crucial in building our rural communities. We also looked into issues facing state governments in implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act, which is a major federal law that reforms the way we approach food safety and is largely implemented by the states. I feel confident that North Carolina’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is taking the necessary steps to ensure that we are ready for the new regulations, and I am ready to work with the department on any statutory changes they need to help conform to the federal law. In fact, NC Department of Ag Consumer Protection Assistant Commissioner, Joe Reardon, was one of the panelists who presented to the SARL group and is a food safety expert.