RON HAS YOUR BACK.

Ensuring the safety of your family’s food is one of my primary responsibilities as your Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries, and it’s a job I take extremely seriously. I want my children and grandchildren to enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing where their food was grown, and that it was produced and packaged with methods that meet all our current safety standards. That’s why in my prior two terms as your Commissioner of Agriculture, I implemented requirements for “Country of Origin” labeling on all imported food, and I stopped inferior products directly at the docks in Mobile before they could be unloaded and distributed across the state.

During my eight years as Commissioner, I traveled to Vietnam and other countries to inspect their production processes in great detail to determine how they were produced and whether their standards were sufficient for importing into Alabama. This included catfish from China and seafood products from Southeast Asia. When their products didn’t measure up, I informed their government leaders not to even bother shipping the product to our state if it was graded below the minimum standards we have in Alabama.

It is my duty and mission to ensure your safety as a consumer, while simultaneously protecting the integrity and reputation of our world-class Alabama producers who are competing in international markets. We should not settle for anything less than completely safe, and we should always be able to promote our high-quality Alabama products to the world.

Animal abuse is a heinous crime, and one that we should not tolerate in Alabama. In my eight years as your Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries, I shut down illegal puppy mills across the state and referred violators for prosecution. Unfortunately, it’s not only dogs or cats that are abused. Horses, cattle, and other livestock can be severely neglected and abused through starvation and lack of appropriate veterinary care, intentional or otherwise. We have laws already on the books that are meant to protect our companions in our home and the livestock in our fields. My record on this issue is clear, precise, and I have a well-established history of taking appropriate action when those who abuse animals run afoul of our laws.

That’s my promise to you. I do not tolerate consumer ripoffs. During my time as Commissioner, I implemented a law that required the Department of Agriculture & Industries to inspect and certify every gasoline pump across our state, both for accuracy and safe operation. Unfortunately, this program was stopped in 2015, meaning that there are no elected officials looking out for your pocketbook and peace of mind at the pumps.

When I am again elected Commissioner of Agriculture in Alabama, I will bring this program back into full operation. In these uncertain economic times, your elected officials in Alabama must do everything possible to ensure efficiency and accuracy so that you can go to your favorite gas station without having to worry that unscrupulous operators are giving you less than what you paid for.

Accuracy at the pump and on the scales is critical for business in this state. We must all be transparent and operate within the laws. Unfortunately, not everyone believes in that philosophy. Price gouging is a common consumer ripoff – and I will not make any distinction between those who know but do nothing, and those who deliberately steal from the consumer.

Whether it’s gasoline at the pump, or food on the scales, you and your family must be able to rely on the integrity of the merchant or suppliers selling you the product. I will vigorously investigate price gouging and will be enforce the rules to the maximum extent the law allows. 

There are few places in the country that offer the diversity in quality agricultural exports as we have here in Alabama. Whether it’s ranching on open land in the Black Belt, growing sod and landscape plants in Mobile and Baldwin Counties, harvesting farm-grown catfish from the ponds of central Alabama, growing cotton and peanuts in the Wiregrass, or bringing up fresh oysters and shrimp from Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, there aren’t many other areas in the entire United States who can compete with the quality and variety of Alabama’s agricultural output – and effectively managing that diversity requires knowledge, skill, and experience.

I’m the only candidate running for this office who has worked on 2 separate national farm bills. That experience has serious value and impact. I know how to promote Alabama’s products, including working with  foreign governments to opening new import markets. I have the track record to prove that I can advocate for Alabama agriculture, and demonstrate that we can compete with any producers in the world.

I have visited all 67 Alabama counties multiple times, meeting with local producers and officials to solve problems and reduce inefficiencies in their processes. Farmers and agribusinesses in our state know they can trust and count on me as a fair broker and fierce supporter of their livelihoods. Alabama won’t just be selling products locally when I am Commissioner of Agriculture – we’ll be open for business to the whole world.

Removing this tax will provide immediate relief to our state’s farmers who are struggling with significant inflationary costs on the components they need to bring in the crops, transport the livestock, maximize their yields, and ultimately turn a respectable annual profit.

Family farmers in Alabama are particularly vulnerable to high equipment costs because many lack the access to capital needed to operate their business efficiently. Investing in our farmers is investing in Alabama itself. Removing the 1.5% tax encourages farmers to grow their business, betting on themselves to remain competitive and increase their productivity so they can sell their products in the regional, national, and global marketplace.

The State of Alabama needs to strengthen our partnership with Alabama’s farmers, providing cost-sharing opportunities for replacing broken or outdated tractors, heavy-duty catch pins, harvesting tools, and more. No farmer in Alabama should lose their profit by replacing or upgrading their equipment while providing the critical products and goods needed for the people of our state, country, and the greater global community.