Ex- NWA President wins N.C. Senate primary

By Andy Nelson The packer online magasine,  www.thepacker.com

Published on 05/06/2010 05:17PM

 A North Carolina grower-shipper and former president of the National Watermelon Association won a May 4 primary and will compete for a seat in the North Carolina State Senate.

Brent Jackson, president of Autryville-based Jackson’s Farming Co., won the Republican primary for a District 10 spot in the senate. He won 53% of the vote and will face Democrat Dewey Hudson in the November general election.

Jackson said that if elected, his priorities would include easing the regulatory burden on North Carolina growers, being an advocate for fair food safety regulations and ensuring that agriculture is not slighted in expected state legislation on water rights.

“We feel like we have an excel-lent opportunity to elect a conserva-tive agriculture person,” Jackson said. “The senate has a number of people who are ag-friendly, but very few who make a living or have made a living off of the land.”

Jackson was president of the Plant City, Fla.-based National Watermelon Association from 2005 to 2007. In February he was named to a three-year term on the Plant City-based National Watermelon Promotion Board.

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Tags: people, recognition

Commodities: Watermelon