How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm.

• Position: ECONOMIC OUTLOOK - Interview

Republican Steve Troxler won a close election for state agriculture commissioner in November that was disputed because a broken voting machine failed to record 4,400 votes. On Feb. 4, Democratic incumbent Britt Cobb conceded. Troxler has a bachelor's in conservation from N.C. State University and owns Troxler Farms, growing tobacco and wheat in Guilford County. He recently revealed his plan for agribusiness in North Carolina.

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BNC: What's the purpose?

Troxler: We were directed by the legislature to prepare this plan. The emphasis is not only on the preservation of farmland but on the preservation of farming as a business in North Carolina. When you're talking about agribusiness being $60 billion a year--probably three times as big as the next-largest industry--and, directly and indirectly, employing 20% of the population, this needs to be a big focus.

What's different about your plan?

We want to give the farmer the flexibility to stay in business. To give you a general idea of what's happening in North Carolina: Since 1997, the number of farms has fallen from 59,000 to 53,000. And we've lost about 300,000 acres of prime farmland in that time. But maybe even of more consequence is the average age of a North Carolina farmer in 2002 was over 56 years old. If you take all of these factors and put them together, I think you can see agriculture in this state is at a real crossroads.

What's this Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund you mention in your plan?

The trust fund was established by the legislature several years ago, and I think it was originally funded at about $4 million, and after that the funding was cut and cut and cut to zero.

What's it for?

The economic conditions we've been through in agriculture for many years result in a substantial debt load for farmers. Usually the biggest asset they've got is that big piece of dirt called the farm. If a developer comes by and he says, 'I'm going to give you this amount of money for your farm,' and the farmer is pondering: 'If I sell to the developer, I no longer have a mortgage, I may have a little profit left over and I don't have to fight this day after day.' If we had a program where we could obtain development rights on that piece of property, that money could go to paying off that mortgage and the farm remains a viable business. The farmer still owns it, but he has sold the development rights to it. If he sold, it would have to be sold as a...