Source: PRESS RELEASE, 10/6/14

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan announced today that she has received the “Friend of Farm Bureau” Award in recognition of her strong support for North Carolina farmers in the U.S. Senate. Senator Hagan was nominated by the North Carolina Farm Bureau and selected to receive the award by the American Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors. North Carolina Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten presented the award to Hagan.  

“I am honored to receive this recognition from an organization that does so much to support our farmers and their families in North Carolina,” said Hagan. “Farming is a way of life in our state, and it has always been my goal to serve as a strong voice for North Carolina’s agriculture industry, which contributes over $77 billion to our state’s economy and employs nearly one-fifth of our workers. I will continue to take every opportunity to go to bat for our farmers and support policies that help our agriculture sector continue to grow. ” 

“North Carolina Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau are pleased to present Senator Kay Hagan our Friend of Farm Bureau Award for her work for agriculture during the 113th Congress. Senator Hagan also received the Friend of Farm Bureau Award for the 112th Congress,” said Larry B. Wooten, President of the North Carolina Farm Bureau. “We thank Senator Hagan for supporting Farm Bureau’s positions on issues that are critical to American agriculture and to North Carolina’s farmers,” 

Earlier this year, Senator Hagan helped pass the bipartisan 2014 Farm Bill and made several key updates for North Carolina’s farmers and rural communities. 

Hagan worked to defeat an amendment that would have prevented tobacco growers from being eligible for federal assistance for buying private crop insurance. The amendment unfairly targeted nearly 2,000 small tobacco farmers in North Carolina and would have done nothing to lower smoking rates or address public health issues associated with smoking. By denying tobacco farmers crop insurance, it would have also made it impossible for farmers to obtain financing, threatening their livelihoods and families.

Additionally, after the largest-ever crop insurance fraud ring was uncovered in North Carolina, Hagan sponsored an amendment that unanimously passed the Senate to provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the necessary resources to combat fraud and preserve safety-net programs for honest, law abiding farmers.

Hagan also championed additional funding for a program that provides technical assistance to socially disadvantaged farmers and farmers returning from service in the U.S. military and successfully fought for the reinstatement of the Economic Adjustment Assistance Program (EAAP), which provides a payment to U.S. textile manufacturers for all upland cotton consumed, stimulating new investment in textile plants and equipment and increasing domestic cotton consumption and jobs.