EDGECOMBE COUNTY, N.C. — Voters in North Carolina on Tuesday will elect the next member of Congress in one of the most competitive districts in the state. The recently redrawn 1st Congressional District, a largely rural district in eastern North Carolina, is now considered by many to be a toss-up

U.S. Rep. Don Davis, known as a moderate Democrat, is running for re-election against Republican newcomer Laurie Buckhout.

What You Need To Know

  • Electoral maps recently redrawn by Republican state lawmakers have made the 1st Congressional District competitive

  • One eastern North Carolina farmer says relief is needed after a year that included two devastating storms

  • An updated Farm Bill could offer relief, but it has stalled in Congress

Gwen Pitt is a farmer who said she wants the next member of Congress to offer relief after one of the most devastating years on record for agriculture in North Carolina.

“The impact on this is that we won’t be able to possibly pay for the seed and the fertilizer to put this in the ground,” Pitt said.

She’s a seventh-generation farmer who grows sweet potatoes and cotton.  

Severe drought, heavy rain and Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene caused many farmers in eastern North Carolina to suffer major losses, and some say they may not be able to recover.

“It’s going to cause us probably to be in the red, it will hurt, and cotton is one of our main crops on this farm," Pitt said. "We do sweet potatoes, we do soybeans.” 

Pitt said the $1.5 trillion Farm Bill that is hung up in Congress can help deliver relief.  

“I want them to further the Farm Bill, complete a Farm Bill so that way, we can sustain our farmers and keep them going when there’s troubling times,” she said.

 

The updated Farm Bill stalled last year, leaving lawmakers to reach a resolution this election year. Congress extended the 2018 Farm Bill last year because lawmakers couldn’t reach an agreement. 

President Joe Biden signed an extension, but that expired at the end of September.  

“Our lenders, their hands are tied from regulations from the federal government so then they back off of giving us operating loans at the beginning of the year," Pitt said. "So every year, it’s a struggle.” 

She worries that putting the bill off any longer will cause more farmers to face unforeseen circumstances, especially after Helene.

“Got to have trade, we’ve got to have the tariffs, we don’t need anybody taking advantage of us, of our farmers and that’s what keeps the prices down sometimes, is we’re sitting there negotiating and we’re getting rock bottom,” Pitt said.

Davis and Buckhout both said they want Congress to pass an updated Farm Bill.

Asked about tariffs, Davis said: “When we talk about trade, we should see fair trade and it should be reciprocal, but we also have to be honest with ourselves and when we talk about tariffs in particular, it can have harmful impacts, especially when we’re talking about agriculture.” 

Spectrum News 1 reached out to Buckhout’s campaign three times to ask about her stance on tariffs but has not yet received a response. 

Related Stories