June 2, 2026 — The U.S. secretary of agriculture and the acting secretary of labor visited Craven County today to speak with farmers about their concerns.
Officials held a roundtable at David Parker Farms, where local farmers raised concerns about labor costs.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins said multiple factors affect labor costs.
“Farm economy is struggling. The cost of inputs obviously skyrocketed under the last administration, and they were coming down. The Iranian conflict has caused a short blip in the increase, but this blip is coming during planting season, which is not ideal, so making sure we understand that, but also building for the long term,” Rollins said.