Today, Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt visited AJS Farms in Warsaw to talk about this season’s pumpkin crop and recognize the hard work, dedication, and resilience of North Carolina’s farmers.
Across the country and North Carolina, farmers are taking the brunt of significant cost increases on everything from fuel to fertilizer due to the President’s tariffs and the war in Iran. Families across North Carolina rely on local farmers and AJS Farms pumpkin crop is a key source of income during the Halloween season.
This year, AJS Farms saw their equipment costs double while tariffs limited the amount of available markets they could sell their crops to.
“This Halloween, it’s the prices that are scary,” said Lt. Governor Rachel Hunt. “I grew up on a farm, and I know how hard our farmers work and how much they mean to our communities. I've heard from farmers across North Carolina who are struggling with the rising costs of fuel, fertilizer, and just about everything they need to keep their farms running. Tariffs and the war in Iran are making an already difficult situation worse. Our farmers need more than our thanks. They need Washington to step up and help.”
“For many families, the fall tradition of choosing a pumpkin to carve is becoming increasingly out of reach. Pumpkins are typically one of our most profitable crops, but rising farm input costs and tighter consumer budgets have created significant challenges this season. The result is acres of pumpkins left unharvested and lost income for our farm,” said AJS Farms Co-Owner Krystle Searles. “I’m grateful that the Lt. Governor chose to visit us today and listen to our concerns. Now it’s time for our leaders in Washington to wake up to the reality on the ground here in Eastern North Carolina.”
Earlier this month, Lt. Governor Hunt encouraged legislators to take action temporarily suspending the state’s gas tax. She also wrote to Senator Thom Tillis and Senator Ted Budd to urge them to work for solutions at the federal level to stabilize tariffs and trade policy, bring an end to the War in Iran and take additional steps to bring costs down.
Read the Letter below.