James Kenneth Butler, Jr. of Raleigh passed away Sunday, August 21, 2011. He was born June 25, 1923, in Windsor, North Carolina, the eldest child of James Kenneth Butler and Dayloe Joyner Butler. He grew up in Bertie County, on a family farm, and always cherished his rural roots. His farm background greatly influenced his life, leading to his career in agricultural and livestock related areas as well as a lifelong love of hunting and fishing.

Mr. Butler entered the United States Army in 1944, and served with L Company of the 383rd Regiment 96th Infantry Division in the Battle of Okinawa, receiving the Purple Heart. Following discharge, he returned to N.C. State College, graduating in 1949 with a B.S. degree in Animal Industry. He then joined the Agricultural Extension Service as the Livestock and Boys' 4-H agent for Perquimans County

Mr. Butler returned to N.C. State as a graduate student and received his M.S. degree in Animal Science in 1955. His research during this time involved some of the earliest use of antibiotics as a growth stimulant in swine. He joined Gwaltney, Inc. of Smithfield, VA, in 1957, as livestock field manager and later as manager of the livestock department. 

In 1965, Mr. Butler returned to Raleigh as the first Executive Secretary of the N.C. Pork Producers Association. In this position he worked with pork promotion programs through grocery stores, meat packers, educational meetings, radio, and television. From 1971 to 1975 he worked for Cloverleaf Farms as sales and plant manager for Andy Griffith Country Hams. 

He rejoined N.C. State University in 1975, as Livestock Specialist for 4-H Meat Animal Activities. In this position he worked with junior livestock shows, State Fair shows, and beef cattle, hog, and sheep projects. He coached livestock judging teams from the county to the national levels, and mentored hundreds of young people. During his tenure, youth livestock activities, and general industry support for those activities, increased substantially. He retired from the University in 1988. 

The many honors he received included induction into the Animal Science Club Hall of Fame, the N.C. State Fair Hall of Fame, and the N.C. Pork Producers Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award, the Agricultural Leadership Award, and Brother of the Century Award by Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity. He received the Alpha Zeta Outstanding Alumni Award, as well as the Outstanding Extension Award. Following his retirement from N.C. State, Mr. Butler established the Jim Butler Livestock Judging Endowment.

Mr. Butler was predeceased by his parents, his brother Elmo J. Butler, and sister-in-law, Joyce C. Butler, and brother-in-laws William F. Pritchard, Graham Corbett, Morris Kornegay, and Harvey C. Allen. He is survived by his wife, Lillian Swinson Butler; their son James Kenneth Butler, III, of Raleigh; their daughter Barbara Butler Comyn and her husband Patrick Comyn, of Madison, VA; sisters Margaret Butler Pritchard, Betty Butler Jernigan and her husband Milton Jernigan; sister-in-laws Evelyn S. Corbett, Dolly S. Kornegay, and Thelma S. Allen; grandchildren Caroline Alaire Comyn and Daniel James Patrick Comyn; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the doctors and staff of Capital Nephrology Associates, and Capital Heart Associates for their excellent care during Mr. Butler's illness. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to either the Ridge Road Baptist Church, where Mr. Butler was a long-time member, or the Jim Butler 4-H Livestock Judging Endowment. Donations to the endowment can be sent to N.C. 4-H Development Fund, Campus Box 7645, N.C. State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, or by visiting the giving section of the N.C. State College of Agriculture and Life Science website.
 

Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m., Thursday, August 25, 2011, at the Ridge Road Baptist Church, 2011 Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607. A reception will be held at the church Fellowship Hall from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., with a private interment to follow immediately thereafter. Condolences can be sent to the family at www.brownwynne.com.

As was reported in the  last two issues of the Porkline, there were many wins for both the pork industry and the agricultural community during the regular session of the 2011 General Assembly. NCPC was successful in achieving all of our legislative goals including the passage of laws to address the growing feral swine population; a law that will allow farmers to rebuild, renovate, and repair swine houses under most any circumstances; and changes to regulatory requirements that made swine farm inspections more efficient, less burdensome and more helpful to producers. Other wins for the agriculture community included a law exempting bona-fide farms from annexation and the extraterritorial jurisdiction of municipalities, and new laws protecting landowners from unauthorized hunters on posted land. 

E-Verify

Despite all of the positive changes for the business community, there was one bill that passed which will add a new requirement for most employers in NC: E-Verify. Businesses, cities and counties in the state will soon have to check the immigration status of new hires. The measure directs employers to use the federal government's E-Verify system to prevent employment of illegal immigrants. 

The new E-Verify law exempts small businesses that employ fewer than 25 people or employers which use seasonal workers (employed for 90 or fewer days during a 12-consecutive month period). Local governments will have to start checking in October. Large companies with 500 or more employees will have to e-verify all new hires beginning in October, 2012.  For employers with 100-499 employees, the law is effective January 1, 2013 and for employers with 25-99 employees, on July 1, 2013. The legislation also allows people to anonymously report suspicions that a company is employing an illegal worker.

Additional Transportation Exemptions for Farmers Will Have to Wait

Finally, there were some items left on the table when the legislature adjourned the 2011 session. One of those items was a HB 652, a transportation bill that includes provisions that would benefit farmers by providing additional exemptions when bringing agricultural products to market. Those provisions include:

• Expanding the farm trailer registration exemption to include trailers also used to haul livestock, live poultry, animal waste, herbicides, fungicides and seeds. 
• Additional farm weight exemptions including meats, live poultry, or agricultural crop products transported from a farm to a processing plant or market; grove, and other forest products, including chips and bark, to a processing point; and water, fertilizer, herbicides, fungicides, seeds, fuel, and animal waste transported to or from a farm by a farm vehicle. 
• Creation of a new weight exemption for 2-axle farm vehicles that do not exceed a maximum gross weight of 37,000 pounds, a maximum single axle weight of no more than 27,000 pounds, with a length of at least 14 feet between the center of axle one and the center of axle two of the vehicle.