Agriculture is a foundational industry to North Carolina’s economy. But, the industry still faces persistent challenges...
Hi there,
Agriculture is a foundational industry to North Carolina’s economy. But, the industry still faces persistent challenges, especially when it comes to labor shortages and housing for farmworkers.
Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are essential for the productivity of North Carolina’s farms, yet housing shortages make it difficult to accommodate them.
Estimates suggest that North Carolina employs approximately 150,000 seasonal and migrant farmworkers, every year.
But farms continue to struggle to find sufficient labor, particularly as younger generations in rural communities seek employment outside of agriculture.
As a result, farms have to rely on migrant labor, raising the importance of addressing this critical workforce’s living conditions.
To support agriculture, North Carolina has specific legislation which allows farms to avoid certain zoning restrictions by creating a “bona fide farm” exception (NCGS § 160D-903), which allows a farm owner to provide housing, given that housing is on the farm and clearly supports its operation.
However, there are still many barriers to constructing housing for farmworkers. The high cost of land and materials, rising interest rates, access to financing, ambiguous regulations and the permitting process all pose challenges to farm owners.
To address these challenges, there would need to be short-term and long-term solutions that balance the needs of farmworkers and the realities facing farmowners. Some potential solutions include:
Expansion of the H-2A visa program
Simplifying and expanding the H-2A visa program could provide farms with a more consistent labor supply, making it easier to justify more investments in worker housing
Lowering property taxes
Lowering property taxes on farm properties designed for farmworker housing would make it more economical to build and maintain adequate housing
Zoning reform for agricultural housing
Creating a streamlined bureaucratic process for farm-related housing would reduce red tape and encourage farms to provide more safe and compliant accommodations for workers
Ensuring safe and stable housing for farmworkers can strengthen North Carolina’s farms, and better support the essential workers who help feed our state and nation.
Even though here in the United States we remember our veterans and their sacrifices on Memorial Day, Veterans Day always prompts reflections on the legacy of World War I
More than 2 million American soldiers sailed to Europe to fight in WWI, and more than 100,000 died there
While other wars may have been bloodier for the United States, it’s important to remember how WWI changed the course of both world and American history
By 1918, the war, and how it had been administered, had discredited the global ruling class in the eyes of the masses
Radical groups, on both the right and the left, exploited the public’s disillusionment and sought to destroy institutions and replace them with something new and better…
Such as communism, fascism or national socialism
The Communists took full control of Russia in 1922, the Fascists of Italy in 1925, and the National Socialists of Germany in 1933
Once in power, these radicals subjected the world to an inebriety of death and destruction on a scale previously unimaginable, initiating World War II and leaving much of Europe and Asia in ruins
Yet, after all those horrible ordeals, here we are again; with radical groups exploiting the masses’ frustration with the global ruling class
How do we convince Americans, particularly young Americans, to step back from the brink?
One way is to teach them history, and specifically about World War I and its horrific consequences
In 2022, Gov. Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 246, which called for 1.25 million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and 50% of new car sales to be ZEVs in North Carolina by 2030
Though the order isn’t legally enforceable, a dozen other states have adopted ZEV quotas, several of which bypassed legislation
A new report from Locke estimates the cost of reaching the governor’s ZEV goal would fall between $19 - 20.5 billion over the next 7 years
It is well known that ZEVs are far more expensive than regular vehicles,
The average manufacturer suggested retail price of a ZEV is 67% more expensive than the average cost of a regular vehicle
And the tax credit for purchasing a ZEV, $7,500, only applies to vehicles with batteries made and with final assembly in the United States
This disqualifies many ZEVs at the lower end of the cost spectrum
So in effect, it does little-to-nothing to reduce the “green premium”
The report finds that the additional cost to NC consumers of reaching 1.25 million ZEVs would be about $17.8 billion
Many older homes weren’t built to charge an electric vehicle at home, and would require substantial electrical upgrades in order to do so
The report estimates the in-home charger cost to accommodate 1.25 million ZEVs by 2030 to be between $1.7 - 4.1 billion
There is also a lack of EV charging infrastructure
The report estimates an additional 17,660 charging ports would be needed along North Carolina’s highways and secondary roads, with a total cost of $883 billion
And despite all these efforts, the ZEV mandate would likely have little-to-no effect on the climate whatsoever
Any emission-reduction benefits would be canceled out by China’s rapidly rising emissions
The 2024 election has to come to pass, and now comes the favorite time for election analysts: the autopsy
While there is still some outstanding data, there are some hang-ups
Several counties appear to have more votes than ballots cast
While others appear to have election totals swapped between “Absentee-by-Mail” and “In-Person Early Voting”
When asked about these discrepancies, NCSBE Communications Director Pat Gannon stated that the majority of them are likely from unprocessed “Same day Registrations”
North Carolina saw 123,445 SDRs in this year’s election
This could explain these discrepancies, but we will need to see more results after the county canvasses are complete
However, this would mean SDR’s are not being processed within the 2 business days, as required by law
Gannon assured that issues with the results would be resolved prior to the results being certified.
