Laura Kilian is the recipient of a 2023 USA North Carolina-based Scholarship*, which she intends to use to study how agriculture issues are communicated and linked with policy makers around the world.
Laura is the Associate State Legislative Director of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation. Her duties include advocating for NC farmers at the state legislature and lobbying for policy initiatives passed by the Farm Bureau members at the grassroots level.
"There are a plethora of questions surrounding agricultural policy, including how it is formed, where the starting point is, and strategies for implementation which differ worldwide, and the problem to address is the measurement of successful agriculture policy. Like our food supply chain, policy also has a supply chain. The exploration of this within the agriculture arena would assist each level of the agricultural policy supply chain - from the grassroots to the publicly elected officials who govern regulations."
Laura says agriculture is North Carolina's number one industry, and it is critical to continue to develop, maintain and protect the industry- and policy makers play a big role in this. She will visit several states such as Iowa, Washington, California, Texas, and Florida to make comparisons domestically. Internationally, she will visit Canada which enjoys geographic similarity with the USA but with less of a free market approach. She would also like to visit the EU to see how their sustainability-based agriculture policy plays out against production-focussed policy. Finally, India and Moldova will provide a completely alternative perspective in how their agriculture issues are communicated.
In her spare time, Laura serves as a volunteer with her local church, has served on the NC Museum of History Young Associates Committee and has been a Refugee Hope Partner volunteer. In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her German Shepherd dog, Tara.
* Investor sponsors include Ag Carolina Farm Credit, North Carolina Sweet Potato Association, North Carolina State University College of Agricultural Sciences, Mrs. Dale Boone, and Griffin Farms*
