Agriculture
Agriculture
Supporting policies that increase food freedom and access to markets for our farmers and producers.
Research Brief
Agriculture
The politics of hunger
Anti-poverty advocates are throwing a fit over the Trump administration’s decision to halt the Household Food Security report, a survey that measures levels of hunger and food insecurity in the…
Research Brief
Agriculture
Blockchain on the farm: Boosting NC’s agricultural future
North Carolina’s $111 billion agriculture sector is the backbone of our state’s economy. To stay competitive in a high-tech world, farms must embrace new tools. Blockchain — a secure, decentralized ledger — offers practical…
Agriculture
Publicly owned grocery stores are a bad idea
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani recently made headlines by proposing five government-owned grocery stores — one in each borough — as a kind of “public option” for food.…
Research Brief
Agriculture
How tariffs once again threaten North Carolina farmers
In 2018, American farmers were blindsided by a trade war they didn’t start that resulted in federal bailouts for farmers with a total price tag to taxpayers of $28 billion. That…
Agriculture
When steel gets costly, so does dinner
President Donald Trump’s return to office has revived one of his most controversial economic weapons: tariffs. Framed as a patriotic strategy to protect American manufacturing, especially the steel industry, Trump’s…
Agriculture
Are robot farm workers the future of NC agriculture?
North Carolina’s farms lack workers. That’s the central warning in “Harvest on Hold,” my new report for the Center for Food, Power, and Life at the John Locke Foundation. The…
Agriculture
Freedom to drink raw milk? Only if the state approves
A raw milk ban seems to have been averted in North Carolina, but consumer access is still under fire. On Tuesday, May 6, North Carolina lawmakers backed away from a…
Agriculture
Legalize raw milk sales: Trust farmers, trust consumers
Right now in North Carolina, raw milk exists in a legal gray zone. While it’s technically illegal to buy and sell raw milk directly, there’s a widely used workaround: cow-share…
Agriculture
Harvest on Hold: North Carolina’s Agriculture Labor Shortages
North Carolina’s agricultural sector faces a critical labor shortage driven by demographic shifts, declining interest in farm work among domestic workers, and regulatory challenges associated with hiring foreign labor. The…
Agriculture
NC farmers are facing the costs of tariffs (again)
As trade policy once again takes center stage in international politics, North Carolina’s farmers are bracing for impact. Pres. Donald Trump has revived talk of aggressive tariffs, this time proposing…
Research Brief
Agriculture
The Farmers Protection Act: Defending Agriculture from ESG Overreach
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies have rapidly gained traction in the financial sector, influencing investment decisions and regulatory frameworks. For American farmers, however, ESG-driven financial practices have introduced new…
Agriculture
Solar Farms Are Killing NC’s Farmland – Nuclear Can Save It
North Carolina’s current energy policy aims to achieve carbon neutrality through the least cost path that maintains or improves grid reliability. Environmentalists have made it clear that they want the…