Issue Position: Growing Alabama

Issue Position

While Alabama must work to diversify its economy, agriculture remains our number one industry, and Dr. Larry DiChiara will work to ensure that it remains number one. With more than 43,000 farms covering 8.9 million acres, nearly one in every five jobs in Alabama is related to agriculture. We must work to protect the competitiveness of mid-sized and family farms and pass legislation to ease access for farmers to domestic and international markets. Farmers must have access to not only domestic buyers but also global purchasers. Open access to markets creates jobs for Alabama.

Alabama farmers desperately need relief from the escalating costs of corn and ethanol. Ethanol no longer needs tax credits, trade protection or government subsidies. Instead, we need to shift resources to help our farmers cope with rising fuel costs and investing in new technology to decrease their dependence on ethanol.

Source