Washington, DC  -  Congressman Mike Rogers and several other local officials rolled out of Oxford this morning aboard the Third District Ag Tour bus on a ride to help the state’s farmers.

“Agriculture is the number one industry in the state of Alabama,” Rogers said. “I came to Lee County to find out how I can best advocate for Alabama farmers.”

Rogers made the comments today during his three-stop Third District Ag Tour of East Alabama farms, beginning this morning in Randolph County and continuing later in the afternoon at the corner of Lee, Macon and Russell counties. The purpose of his trip, which included other local officials and farmers, was to learn more about the various farming interests in the Third District and formulate ideas to help strengthen the state’s agriculture base.

“I simply want to get out and talk with real farmers about their problems,” Rogers said. “We’ve got to keep the Washington bureaucrats off our farms, and ensure we have common sense policies that strengthen and protect our farmers back home.”

Rogers said that in Washington he continues a long Third District tradition of serving on the House Agriculture Committee, an influential appointment where he helps write legislation that aids Third District farmers. Agriculture and agribusiness combined is the number one industry in Alabama, he added, employing over 476,000 people with over $9 billion in annual earnings.

Rogers’ third and final stop today was in rural Lee County to visit John T. Ingram and Sons Farms, a family business that includes a successful cotton operation.