Davis earns leadership post on agriculture committee

Named vice ranking member of the House Committee on Agriculture, U.S. Rep. Don Davis, D-Snow Hill, said he is working on a farm bill to help farmers across the nation and at home in North Carolina.

“My plan is to listen to our farmers to continue to take their concerns to Washington, D.C., and through this position, continue to build on the relationships with Congress, with Democrats and Republicans alike, so that we can work the bipartisan way to deliver a farm bill that is fair, just and one that works for eastern North Carolina and America,” Davis said in a Thursday phone interview.

Davis said he is trying to help farmers around the “high-cost fertilizer, high-cost fuel and concerns in terms of requirements touring around pesticides” in the farm bill that will be drafted in the near future. 

The farm bill is updated every five years, and Davis said 2023 is the year to renew it. 

Davis said he will continue to hear from farmers and plans to hold a town hall meeting to allow farmers and their families to weigh in on the bill. 

“As someone who grew up cropping tobacco so my family could make ends meet, standing up for farmers is a personal issue for me,” Davis said in a Wednesday press release. 

“I’m proud to have Congressman Don Davis join the Democratic leadership of the Agriculture Committee as vice ranking member,” Ranking Member David Scott, a Democrat from Georgia’s 13th District, said in the release. “He represents a district with a large agriculture sector and is fiercely committed to advancing policies that allow America’s farmers, ranchers and foresters to thrive. I look forward to working alongside him to pass a farm bill that strengthens our producers and the families who rely on them.”

Davis said he hopes to help farmers in North Carolina feed America. 

“I have a strong voice on the agriculture committee” and it’s “certainly a victory for eastern North Carolina,” Davis said by phone.

Davis serves on the House Committee on Agriculture’s subcommittees on commodity markets, digital assets and rural development as well as the general farm commodities and risk management and credit panels.