Leaving Farmers Of Color In The Lurch
Despite the USDAs long track record of racial discrimination, the Trump administration has all but closed the agencys Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights .44 When Trumps nominee for the top position, Naomi Churchill Earp, was not confirmed by the Senate, he appointed her as the deputy assistant secretarya position that does not need Senate approvalwhile leaving the top position vacant, effectively leaving the office to her leadership.
Earp has a dismal record on civil rights.45 She previously served at the OASCR from 1987 to 1989, during which timeaccording to a House committee investigation and congressional hearingsactual enforcement activity nearly stopped entirely. Moreover, Earp herself has faced allegations of discriminatory conduct and combative management throughout her years in civil service. A National Association for the Advancement of Colored People task force estimated that discrimination complaints against Earp and her direct reports had cost the federal government almost $500,000 in legal costs over the years. During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, Earp appeared to dismiss allegations of sexual harassment at the U.S. Forest Service as silliness.46
Does Former President Trump Deserve Credit For Republican Wins In 2021
NEWS AND OPINION:
Many have pondered President Trumps grassroots support in the nations heartland. Democrats, in fact, still marvel or worry about the 63 million folks who stood up and went to the polls in 2016 and voted for Mr. Trump. It appears they are still out there, and still support the president in a big way.
Though the nations farmers are understandably fretting about their business outcomes, like most folks around America.
But pessimism is not affecting their support for Mr. Trump, according to DTN, a Minneapolis-based research and marketing firm specializing in agriculture, livestock, crops and other related fields.
While farmers confidence is waning in their current and future situations, it is not lessening their support for the current administration. When asked, 90% of farmers polled by DTN said they would vote to keep the current administration, an increase of 15 percentage points from the same survey conducted in December 2019, the organization says.
Its interesting to note that through these challenging times, farmer support for President Trump is at an all-time high. We are seeing that farmers approve of how the current administration is handling the pandemic and its resulting effect on the economy with the recently announced aid packages being distributed to farmers, says John Teeple, senior vice president of agriculture at DTN.
THE DESANTIS METHOD
He also is thinking ahead.
Making Rural Americans Pay The Price For The Border Wall Showdown
The 34-day government shutdown over border wall funding shuttered essential USDA services for rural Americans.55 During this period, farm loan guarantees, marketing assistance loans, disaster assistance, and direct and facility loans were withheld from rural Americans, farms, and communities.56 Because of the halt in loan closure, rural Americans faced missed mortgage payments and delayed farming decisions.57 The shutdown also delayed trade facilitation payments promised to farmers to mitigate the economic impact of the Trump administrations trade war.58
Furthermore, the shutdown disrupted data reporting by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, delaying the release of key market indicators.59 These data, including crop yields and prices, are crucial to price discovery and inform farm operators decision-making. Without regular data releases from the USDA, farmers are left in the dark while large corporations can take advantage of privately held information, further exacerbating the already tilted balance of power.60
From halted loans and assistance to the delay of critical information, the administrations showdown over the border wall caused significant collateral damage to rural Americans.
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Trump Administration Farmer Bailouts
| This article is part of a series about |
Trump administration farmer bailouts are a series of United Statesbailout programs introduced in 2016 during the presidency of Donald Trump as a consequence of his “America First” economic policy to help US farmers suffering due to the US-China trade war and trade disputes with European Union, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and others. China and respectively European reconcilable tariffs imposed on peanut butter, soybeans, orange juice, and other agriculture products had hit hard, especially swing states, such as Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Illinois Farmers Voice Support For Trump Despite Hardships
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US Farmers Prepare to Vote Amid Record Government Aid
When he set out to plant his crops earlier this year, Illinois farmer Ron Moore was preparing for another year of trade uncertainty with China, one of the largest purchasers of the more than 300 hectares of soybeans he grows on a family farm he has tilled since 1977.
The year 2020 would prove to be unlike any growing season Moore had witnessed. A global pandemic upended the food supply chain, pushing down wholesale prices for livestock and the foodstuffs they consume.
They are not going to eat a lot of corn and theyre not going to eat a lot of soybean meal, Moore explained to VOA during a break in this years harvest. So that decimated demand for the grains that provide the feed for the livestock.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a 35% drop in soybean prices that coincided with a multiyear trade war with China that saw Beijing turn increasingly to Brazil and other U.S. competitors for the staple. The pandemic reduced Chinese purchases even further.
It was a double whammy, so to speak, and we were terribly affected by the pandemic in the livestock and grain industry, Moore said.
For many, the challenges continue. Some 30 kilometers from Moores operation, farmer Wendell Shauman has seen prices for corn, one of his primary crops, fall 44% since 2014. Hopes for a rebound in 2020 have been dashed.
It was a big help
Hoping for a semblance of normalcy
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Taking Off The Farmer’s Hat
For some, agriculture policies aren’t at the top of their list for deciding who will get their votes.
I think there is a percentage of farmers who look at ag policy more than anything because thats their livelihood, Lawler said. But there are also plenty of farmers who would vote based on social issues.
One example, he said, is Second Amendment rights: When you talk about guns, thats a big deal and very important to rural America, said Lawler, who owns Brandywine Creek Farm. He is a proud gun owner, he said but added that his rights have actually felt more under threat from Trump than they did under Obama.
There are numerous other policies that on the surface are unrelated to agriculture, but always come back to farming. The estate tax, for example, can be difficult as farms pass through generations. The land, depending on how many acres, can often be valued at over $1 million but farmers operate on tight margins and dont often have the money to pay those taxes.
Health care is another. Jamie Campbell runs a small farm with her husband and is the executive director of the Midwest Hemp Council. Nearly every farmer she knows, she says, has someone in the family with an outside job mostly for benefits: There is no other way to survive, Campbell said.
Kacee Bohle has had to do just that. She comes from a fourth-generation farming family in western Indiana’s Vermillion County, but works for a farm management software company and helps on the farm when she can.
Despite Tariffs And The Shutdown Trump Still Has Supporters On The Farm
Midwestern farmers suffering from a long-term economic squeeze see the President as the better evil.
USDA
On a dairy farm in Wisconsin, which lost a record-breaking 638 dairy farms in 2018, the same year prices hit a record low, and the trade war with Mexico led to retaliatory tariffs on cheese that left midwestern farmers reeling.
Covering the dairy-farm crisis in Wisconsin and Minnesota over the past few months has given me a chance to do something I dont do often enoughto get outside the liberal university town where I live, and visit people who inhabit a very different political and cultural environment.
Among the dozen or so dairy farmers I have interviewed over the last few months, most voted for Donald Trump. Most also rely on undocumented Mexican workers to do a lot of the work on their farms.
Trumps attacks on Mexicans, his insistence on building a wall on the Southern border, as well as trade wars and tariffs that hit Midwestern farmers particularly hard, have given rural people plenty of reasons to be disillusioned with the current administration.
So, have rural voters changed their minds about Trump? Ive been asked that question a lot lately.
The short answer is no.
If you are waiting for Trump supporters in hard-hit rural America to see the error of their ways, dont hold your breath.
If you are waiting for Trump supporters in hard-hit rural America to see the error of their ways, dont hold your breath.
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Despite Trade War Most American Farmers Still Support Trump 2020
As President Trump gears up for re-election after an impeachment trial and amid a trade war, theres one group he probably wont have to worry about getting support from: U.S. farmers.
American farmers have faced uncertainty over the last two years with agriculture being caught in the crosshairs of tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China amid trade negotiations.
To help farmers offset the effects of tariffs, the Trump administration approved $28 billion in farmer aid and promised that support would continue until a comprehensive deal is reached.
And although the relief has been lopsided an NPR analysis found that about 100,000 individuals collected roughly 70% of the aid payments through July 2019 most American farmers are still highly supportive of the president.
According to the latest Farm Journal Pulse Poll, 83% of farmers approve Trump, with 64% strongly approving. It is his highest approval rating so far in this poll.
Glenn Brunkow, a Kansas-based farmer who grows soybeans and corn and raises sheep and cattle, voted for Trump in 2016 and still plans on voting for him in the 2020 cycle.
At this point, I would say it looks like it, he told Yahoo Finance. It depends on the candidate and it depends on their stance on issues as they relate to , and any of the other topics that are hot button issues to me. As I look at the field now, he probably aligns the best.
Iowa Ohio And Georgia Key
Farming states that lean to the right, such as Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Georgia, Minnesota and Wisconsin, were instrumental in Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential win and would be crucial if he were to be victorious again this year.
They are also some of the states hit hardest by the trade war with China, given their reliance on farm commodities that have attracted some of the highest retaliatory tariffs.
Neil Hamilton, emeritus professor of law and the director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, said the handouts to farmers in these states was an example of vote buying.
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The Presidents Approval Is Rock
Of note is the strongly approve category went up three percentage points from an already lofty number and his highest overall approval ratings ever, said Pro Farmer policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer. That says the presidents approval is rock-solid.
With the recent upbeat news on USMCA and the Phase 1 accord with China, the ratings will likely remain firm ahead, Wiesemeyer added.
Farmers who said they strongly approve Trump went up to 64 percent in January, which was a jump from 61 percent in December 2019. A mere 19 percent at the time said they somewhat approve of President Trumps performance, while those who somewhat disapproved only registered at three percent.
Farmers still love Trump as president hits highest approval rate ever in ag poll
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Trump needs the rural vote to keep the same states he won in 2016 in his win column come November, Wiesemeyer said. In fact, contacts say he is focusing on winning Minnesota this time as a backstop should he lose a state he won in 2016. That means agriculture will continue to be a key topic in the presidents re-election campaign.
Farm Subsidies Balloon To $us40b
In addition to the trade war subsidies, farmers got a $US10 billion boost earlier this year as part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and a further $US14 billion is on the way under an extension of that scheme.
It brings American farm subsidies this year alone to almost $US40 billion, according to the US Department of Agriculture far greater than the average $US12 billion a year in the decade leading up to the trade war.
According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, the subsidies make up about 36 per cent of farm income at the moment, and the median farm income is up 24 per cent compared to 2018, “largely because of increases in government payments to farm operations”.
Mr Nearmyer, who was backing the President regardless, said handouts were not what farmers wanted.
“These aid deals are helpful, but it’s not what we want. We would just rather have a fair market and be able to conduct business that way, rather than getting paid by the Government on the back end,” he said.
The extent of the farm handouts prompted the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri to conclude 2020 could see the largest level of government contribution to farm incomes ever.
But it has also promoted allegations of vote-buying in must-win states for the President.
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“They are not going to come out and tell you they were intentionally trying to buy votes, even though that may be what it appears to be on the surface,” he said.
“The money is going particularly to a number of farm states and key states that he’s interested in trying to hold on to, like Iowa, Nebraska, and Georgia.
“And within those states the money is fairly skewed, in terms of going to larger commodity farms who usually vote Republican.
“And it’s not really spread around particularly well, either, to smaller farms or even to other types of commodities.”
In a statement to the ABC, the USDA acknowledged that 68 per cent of trade aid funds for 2019 went to the Midwest region, with the top five states being Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas and Kansas.
Farms with fewer than 100 acres received an average of US$59.68 per acre in subsidies, while farms with more than 2,500 acres received an average US$48.64 per acre.
Thats Why A Record 83% Of Farmers Support The President
The Director of Communications for Trumps 2020 re-election campaign tweeted on Monday, Farmers are long-term planners and they know that policies are working for agriculture and the entire American economy.
They also know that President Trump fights for them.
Thats why a record 83% of farmers support the President!
Farmers are long-term planners and they know that @realDonaldTrumps policies are working for agriculture and the entire American economy.
They also know that President Trump fights for them.
Thats why a record 83% of farmers support the President!
Tim Murtaugh Text TRUMP to 88022
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These positive poll results for Trump have emerged after his recent talk at the American Farm Bureau Federations annual convention in Austin, Texas, where the President sang the praises of American farmers.
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Inflation Rises To Highest Annual Level In 40 Years
“We had farm income that was up by a pretty fair amount in 2021, almost to the record level of 2013, but not quite,” said Patrick Westhoff, director of the University of Missouris Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. “Part of that, of course, was continuing government payments, but there was a very strong recovery in both crop and livestock prices last year.”
Soy and corn prices, two of the largest cash crops in the United States, have suffered slightly, falling below $9 and above $3 a bushel, respectively, during the pandemic. Now, exports have had an increase in demand, in part because of exports to China and poor weather affecting South American producers. Soy was up to $14 in 2021 and corn is projected to continue above $5 in 2022.
Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, is estimated to have increased by $15.7 billion in 2020 relative to 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. The agency also forecast net farm income at $116.8 billion in 2021, the highest level since 2013.
Ways The Trump Administration Has Failed Rural America
After four years under siege, rural America deserves equitable investment and a meaningful partnership with Washington.
- Caius Z. Willingham
Rural America
President Donald Trump has repeatedly stressed that his administrations policies would benefit farmers and rural Americans, vowing in 2016, We are going to end this war on the American farmer.1 His rhetoric, however, could not be further from reality. From the moment Trump took office, his administration has openly attacked rural communities by attempting to dismantle key programs and services on which they rely. The administrations prioritization of corporate interests and profits over critical rural services and protections has only exacerbated the growing gap between rural and urban America. Since 2016, the difference in average household income between metro and nonmetro areas has increased by nearly 30 percent.
Figure 1
This issue brief outlines the multiple ways Trumps policies are driving down rural opportunity and lays out pathways for restoring hope to rural America. Rural communities have been struggling for more than a decade, and they need a meaningful commitment to economic recovery from federal policymakers.2 With robust investment and lasting partnerships between the federal government and the diverse range of rural localities, rural America can have a bright future.3
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