The Farm Labor Organizing Committee is working to better the harsh conditions faced by North Carolina farm workers. During the British American Tobacco's Annual General Meeting in London, FLOC addressed ongoing abuse in North Carolina's tobacco fields. Being the nation's largest tobacco producer, North Carolina's farms have a track record for endangering workers, according to advocates.

McKenzie Swain, FLOC communications lead, highlighted the problems FLOC seeks to resolve for workers as they target British American Tobacco and its American subsidiary, Reynolds American.

"They are barely making a livable wage, many are not, and then they are in inadequate housing working 12 hours a day in the sweltering summer heat, many times not being able to get breaks or have access to clean water, so it's just a multitude of these issues," Swain said.

1 in 4 four workers interviewed in an Oxfam study reported they were paid less than the federally mandated minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and 57 workers said their pay was not enough to meet their basic needs. Swain said despite FLOC's advocacy for Reynolds American Tobacco to address these issues and collaborate in creating an accountable and sustainable system for farm workers in the last decade, no conditions have improved so they are now hoping the new efforts can help them come to an agreement.

The Oxfam study reveals that H-2A visa workers make up less than 9% of the state's farmworker population, leaving many vulnerable to exploitation and hesitant to report mistreatment. The committee represents more than 1,000 workers. It wants to sign an agreement with Reynolds ensuring freedom of association for all farms in their supply chain, enabling them to form organizations and protect their interests and well being.


"A large corporation like BAT, they set the commodity prices, which then in turn stresses small family farms in North Carolina throughout the Southeast, who then -- because they are being squeezed by the large corporations because they have an imbalance in supply chain -- squeeze those at the lowest level, which are the farm workers," she said.

As a result of the organization's attendance at BAT's annual general meeting, Reynolds has agreed to a private meeting, according to Swain. Reynolds is one of the largest tobacco corporations in the world, with annual profits of more than $2 billion. Swain notes, however, that British American Tobacco had $30 million in revenue in 2021.

The chair of the Federal Trade Commission will be in rural Iowa this weekend to hear from farmers and other residents about the proposed sale of Iowa Fertilizer to Koch Industries.

The sale is pending FTC approval. Iowa spent $500 million to build an Iowa Fertilizer factory in Weverly to create competition in an already consolidated industry.

Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union, said he plans to tell FTC Chair Linda Khan a sale to Koch Industries would backtrack on any competitive progress the state has made.

"Our concern is that an industry that already lacks competition and has all sorts of monopoly problems would only get worse if this sale is allowed to go through," Lehman explained.

Koch and other corporate ag conglomerates have said consolidating allows them to provide better products to farmers more efficiently. The hearing is set for Saturday on Main Street in Nevada.

In addition to reducing competition for fertilizer, Lehman argued the sale would increase prices for farmers, and ultimately mean higher food prices for Iowans. He wants Khan to hear stories firsthand, from the people on the ground in Nevada.

"We know that we might not be able to have a dialogue with the people who are investigating this situation, because they need to be impartial," Lehman acknowledged. "But our farmers need to tell their story about how the industry is already in a monopoly state."

Some 18 other ag organizations have joined the Iowa Farmers Union calling on the FTC and the Justice Department to investigate the proposed sale.

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops.

Excess nitrates can wind up in ground and surface water, and cause health problems.

Practical Farmers of Iowa is encouraging farmers to find just the right amount of nitrogen they need for their crops - while avoiding applying too much, which the group says is common.

PFI's Field Crops Viability Coordinator - Chelsea Ferrie - said thanks to federal grants and private funding, the group will pay farmers up to $35 for every acre that has a lower than normal yield if they didn't apply enough nitrogen.

"No cost to the farmer, either," said Ferrie. "We're trying to help incentivize them. This is something that farmers want to do - I mean, they want to be good stewards of the land - but also, that they need to have a profitable farm."

The application period for the program is open through the end of April.

To help them reach the right nitrogen balance, Ferrie said PFI will help farmers on the front end of the process, too - so they aren't left guessing how much to apply.

"Talk through what your typical fertilizer plan is, and what your reduction plan would be," said Ferrie. "Then you would implement this year, going into the spring and into the season."

Farmers have relied on nitrogen-based fertilizers for generations - but when applied in excess, nitrates run off into ground and surface water, posing health concerns for animals and people.




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Pesticides are still common in agriculture. Organic producers who avoid them have seen ups and downs in pushing for stronger regulations, and they point to a South Dakota example of the harm associated with widespread use among neighboring farms.

At the heart of the regulatory fight is the application of the weed-killing pesticide dicamba, and how it can drift from one farm to another. Last month, a federal court blocked "over the top" spraying of dicamba products, but the EPA followed with an order to allow the spraying of existing supplies.

Glenn Pulse, co-owner of an organic farm in Vermillion, said a 2017 drift incident had a big impact on his operation.

"Our entire farm was covered. We lost a lot of livestock, and thousands of bees were killed," he explained.

It also resulted in health concerns for his family, having to regain his organic farmer certification, and a legal battle over restitution. Groups such as the National Family Farm Coalition have been fighting what they call the deregulation of these chemicals, arguing the drift and runoff effect has damaged millions of crops.

Dicamba-manufacturing companies deny responsibility, instead blaming farmers who apply it for not following guidelines.

The EPA has said there were already millions of gallons of dicamba in circulation prior to the court's ruling, prompting the agency's order. Pulse feels there are farmers who are careful in spraying chemicals, but he wants stronger enforcement against those he describes as "loose cannons."

"The guys that are not following the labels and they're spraying in weather conditions that are not favorable, that is where, I would say, 90% of the problems are happening with drift incidents," Pulse said.

His calls for better responses to these incidents coincide with policy demands to heavily restrict dicamba products. Meanwhile, Rep. Dusty Johnson, D-South Dakota, is the main sponsor of a bill supporters say would assure uniformity in national pesticide labeling under federal law. But opponents argue it would limit longstanding state and local pesticide safety rules.