Dear Friends:

I want to thank the people of North Carolina for electing me to serve another term as your Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

I especially want to thank the volunteers around the state so worked so hard on my behalf – putting up yard signs, making campaign contributions, encouraging friends and family to vote for me, and talking to voters at the polls to ask for their support. Your hard work made a difference, and I deeply appreciate it.

As North Carolina’s largest industry, agriculture and agribusiness are vital to North Carolina’s economic future. As we move forward, the challenges will be great. But I look forward to getting up and going to work every day to continue to make sure that all North Carolinians enjoy a safe and abundant local food supply.

We will continue to focus on preserving our valuable farmland so future generations can return to the farm to earn their livelihood. We will aggressively market North Carolina products through out “Got to Be NC” program. We will continue our research into the use of biofuels as alternative sources of energy.  And we will work to insure the safe production and delivery of North Carolina products from the farm to the fork.

Again, Sharon and I want to express our gratitude to all those who worked so hard on behalf.

I look forward to continuing to serve the people of North Carolina.

Sincerely,