—story and photo by Ross Courtney
Stories are great, but they’re not enough.
Ray Starling will tell you so when he delivers the keynote address as the 2024 Washington State Tree Fruit Association Annual Meeting begins on Dec. 9.
Starling, general counsel for the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, will argue that agricultural groups need to push back against the outside influences trying to dismantle the most successful food production system in the history of the world.
And they need to be more aggressive in courts and in government circles.
Communication is “connective tissue,” Starling said in an interview with Good Fruit Grower. “It is not an organ unto itself.”
His message: Adversaries who have never lain awake at night stressing about the crop loss that could follow a few degrees of temperature drop are using courts, public opinion and the regulatory system to demand changes that will continue to drive up the price of production and make food harder to come by for more people.
Fighting against these influences requires litigation and strategic advocacy in government, Starling warned. It will get messy and expensive.
“Nobody likes to hear that, but frankly it’s true,” he said.
Starling, who grew up on a diversified family farm in southeastern North Carolina, is the author of “Farmers Versus Foodies: A Look at the Outside Forces Forging the Future of Farming and Food.” He has counseled state supreme court justices, former U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and U.S. senators. He also is the former special assistant to the president for agriculture, agriculture trade and food assistance.
His book discusses how critics who know little about food production are driving most of the policy change around how it’s produced and arguing that the system is broken and needs to be replaced. He also shares his ideas on what farmers could and should do about it.
Starling said he does not know the details of the tree fruit industry and will not pretend to during his speech. He is more familiar with North Carolina’s specialty crops of sweet potatoes, melons and tobacco.
Instead, he plans to discuss his book, ways to fight against the critics, and more, as he delivers a message that will apply to all specialty crop groups — because they all face similar problems such as rising costs of labor, regulatory overreach and proverbial slaps in the face from naysayers.
“There is an emotional piece of farming that is being threatened,” Starling said.
Finding hope and solutions
Jeff Baldwin, chair of the annual meeting, expects Starling to put high-level government perspectives in easy-to-understand language.
During a preliminary phone call, Baldwin said Starling asked as many questions of him as he did of Starling, indicating Starling will tailor his speech to the tree fruit industry as much as possible. For example, Starling was astounded that Americans consume only an average of 15 pounds of apples per year, according to Statista.
“He is looking out for the American farmer, and I think we need more people like him doing that,” said Baldwin, who works in grower relations for Monson Fruit Co.
Baldwin asked Starling to share anecdotes of an agricultural industry that faced similar challenges as tree fruit and came out OK on the other side. The speaker agreed to try.
The theme of the conference is “Navigating Adversity,” so Baldwin also asked Starling to discuss things farmers can do as they look for the light at the end of the industry’s presently dark tunnel, he said.
Starling admits that solutions to complex problems don’t come in a simple checklist, but he offers a few suggestions. Here’s a summation:
—Admit there is a problem.
—Tell the truth, and cut down on “feed the world” platitudes.
—Work together. It’s good to have a lot of associations, but they need to speak in a unified voice. The varied responses to the Farm Workforce Modernization Act provide an example, he said. Some specialty crop groups supported it, others opposed. It’s been proposed multiple times, passing the U.S. House but not the Senate.
—Ask critics to suggest alternatives.
—Remember that you have supporters. Surveys show farmers are still popular and trusted.
Most importantly, he said, push back for the right reason. Food is at stake. Siding with the outside critics would make farming less efficient and therefore our society’s food supply less secure.
“There’s a moral imperative to get this right,” he said to Good Fruit Grower. “There is nothing more noble than producing food in the right way. I think we have that high ground.”
The Washington State Tree Fruit Association Annual Meeting is scheduled Dec. 9–11 at the Yakima Convention Center. The accompanying trade show will be nearby at the Yakima Valley SunDome. •
Leave A Comment