Ray Starling grew up on a diversified Century Family Farm in southeastern North Carolina. An avid FFA member, he served as a national officer in 1994, before returning to NC State to receive an agricultural education degree and then suffering through law school at UNC Chapel Hill. Ironically, he now teaches the agriculture and food law course at the law school as an adjunct.
While Ray currently manages the legal and agriculture portfolios for the North Carolina Chamber, he has never strayed too far from public service positions that relate directly to ag. Ray served as the Special Assistant to the President for Agriculture during the first Trump administration, and later as Chief of Staff to Secretary Sonny Perdue over at USDA. He has worked for U.S. Senators, Justices on the state Supreme Court, the NC Speaker of the House and the NC Commissioner of Agriculture. He also recently penned “Farmers Versus Foodies,” an Amazon best seller that shares his perspective on the question of who will call the shots for the future of the farming and food system in the United States and beyond.