First in Future: NC Department of Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler

Summary:

This week’s podcast promotes domestic harmony. You’ll be able to use what you hear around the table to change the subject if one of your relatives brings up something nobody wants to talk about. Yes, that’s right: First in Future can save your Thanksgiving dinner. This week’s special guest is NC Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, who shares all sorts of useful Thanksgiving trivia and looks at the Thanksgiving meal from an economic perspective.

Excerpts: “Ninety-five percent of all consumers of food products – or any products – live outside of the borders of the United States…. We have focused on international markets and it’s paid big dividends. We’re exporting four to five billions dollars’ worth of that product out of North Carolina now.”

Book recommendations:  This may sound strange, but I have very little time for reading books! Most of the time, I schedule in two to three hours a day to read, but the reading is primarily from information I need to stay current on things we’re working on. The last book I read was the autobiography of George W. Bush.

What key issues should we be working on within the next couple of years to make North Carolina a better place?   Infrastructure – including farmland and forestland – due to North Carolina’s population boost.

What do we need to focus on to be ready for the next 20 years? In addition to infrastructure, ensuring adequate and clean water supply for our growing population is crucial.

Next great North Carolinian to watch?  My five grandkids….they are being raised the same way I was raised, and the way their parents were raised – with North Carolina values.

Listen to the podcast: