Keep America Growing

KEEP AMERICA

Since taking office in 2016, President Donald Trump has fought many battles from behind his twitter handle. Although most U.S. farmers and ranchers don’t agree with Trump’s public relations tactics, they do find comfort in his conservative-based, aggressive platform to “Make America Great Again.”

Drive down any road in rural America and you’ll likely find a Trump 2020 flag hanging proudly from the bed of a pickup truck or at the tippy top of a grain bin. It’s no secret that most U.S. farmers and ranchers don’t find comfort in the idea of a Democratic president. However, the real question is, has Trump done the agricultural industry enough good in the last four years to warrant his re-election? And does his current platform lend itself to creating an economy farmers and producers can truly thrive in through 2024?

Some might say yes, while others will present the age-old “it depends” argument. One thing is for sure, Trump can do better than he has in the last four years. U.S. farmers and ranchers have some strong suggestions about how he can accomplish that.

TRUMP TODAY

Leaning towards the do-it-yourself mentality in the past, producers have gotten a firsthand look at why asking for help doesn’t equate to weakness. Not only is American agriculture vulnerable to the everchanging weather patterns, but it’s also at the mercy of market prices.

Prior to 2016, producers were staring down the barrel of increased regulations that lead to a downturn in the markets. There were multiple contributing factors feeding into this fear as America headed to the polls in 2016.

“Having year after year of reportedly record crop production and subsequent grain carry over has only helped lower commodity prices,” said Nolan Sampson who works in farm real estate by day. Along with his wife, Kelsey, Sampson is a grain farmer on nights and weekends; raising soybeans, corn, and popcorn near Union Mills, Indiana, at NK Sampson Farms.

The Sampson duo also raise cattle and market them directly off their farm to customers. This custom beef processing business allows the Sampsons to keep their thumb on the pulse of their grain customers. It also provides their local community with a connection to the producers who reap the benefits, or detriments, of their voting decisions.

Sampson finds himself feeling a bit outspoken on the topic of grain market prices, but he’s optimistic Trump can turn things around if he continues listening to farmers. “I think producers are more confident that they aren’t going to see overreach in regulation as they were before,” Sampson said. “In my opinion, we [producers] get in our heads about the political affiliation of our president.”

STEP ON THE GAS

Although most voters wouldn’t consider ethanol an attractive point of Trump’s 2016 campaign, it certainly caught the attention of American farmers. Why? Corn is a versatile crop and, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), it’s grown in all 40 states.

GROWING

Biotechnology takes a bow for those advancements in crop production and subsequent yield increases.

While a third of the U.S. corn crop is used to make livestock feed, another third goes into food and other products for humans, and the rest of it is used to make ethanol. This renewable fuel source is an important avenue for America’s corn farmers. Without this market, many producers would be forced to grow different crops.

As a grain farmer and seed dealer in Cassopolis, Michigan, Aaron Blaske boasts a first-hand perspective of farming. He also works directly with his peers in the industry on a daily basis.

“Our farm’s been around for the last 60 years and I’ve been heavily involved for about the last five,” Blaske said of the operation he works on with both his dad and grandpa.

The trio all agree that ethanol production is one of the main drivers that keeps grain farmers in business in their area.

“Ethanol makes us the most money and is at the forefront of a lot of the decisions that we make,” Blaske said. “Anything we can do to increase ethanol production is a pretty big deal, both for my own farm and for my customers.”

Originally introduced in 2005, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was created by Congress “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand the nation’s renewable fuel sectors while reducing reliance on imported oil,” according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website. As with anything, RFS has gotten facelifts over the years, but not all of them improved its smile enough to win the hearts of corn farmers.

In 2019, Trump delivered on one of his key 2016 campaign promises: promoting increased domestic biofuel use. However, when the required 15 billion gallons of conventional ethanol blended into the nation’s fuel wasn’t being met, farmers were the first to take that financial burden.

The Small Refinery Exemptions for the RFS allowed small-scale refineries the ability to bypass their obligation to include biofuels in their gasoline if they could prove they were in a financial hardship. Trump’s administration found themselves in a bind when more refineries than expected qualified for the exemptions, effectively hurting the U.S. corn grower.

“Ethanol is the quickest, cleanest, and most renewable source of fuel and it’s also the most profitable way to make positive change in the agricultural industry,” Blaske explained. “Those

Small Refinery Exemptions have to stop; those are killing the industry. If you exempt everyone from blending ethanol into their gas, then there is no need for an ethanol plant and no need for the corn that goes into it.”

Primarily available in the Midwest, ethanol refineries are logically placed in the corn belt. Since producers have the distinct pleasure of paying all the freight for their product, the shorter the haul, the more profit they can pocket. That margin is already minimal, so farmers are making the best business decisions by shortening their shipment distance. g

The pushback from one of Trump’s largest group of supporters, rural America and those who farm it, warranted a change. Those changes were supposed to take effect in 2020 but were disrupted by a global pandemic: COVID-19.

SHUT THE GATES

Just across the great blue pond, people were discovering that the coronavirus wasn’t a short-lived disease outbreak. A full-blown pandemic quickly ensued and found its way to America’s shores. States began closing in early March and by April 1, a majority of the 331 million people living in the U.S. were following quarantine guidelines from their home.

The global pandemic put even more strain on the oil and gas industry as stay-at-home orders drastically reduced the number of cars on the road in early 2020. Some parts of the country saw gasoline prices drop below $1 a gallon.

Rural America might’ve been quarantined just the same as residents in New York City, but it’s not difficult to practice social distancing when your job is spent in the seat of a tractor dead center of a 100acre field. For producers, life didn’t change a whole lot.

“The pandemic is a great example of how [the Trump] administration has stepped up and helped us move forward in these challenging times,” said Chelsea Good, Livestock Marketing Association Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs and Legal. “The White House and Department of Homeland Security sent out guidelines for who needed to continue doing business because they were critical.”

These guidelines made it abundantly clear that the agricultural industry was included in the definition of essential. This allowed agriculture to make adjustments but continue with business as usual. Time waits for no man, and the American agriculturalist knows this better than anyone. Delays in planting or delivering livestock to harvest would’ve proven immediately detrimental to the farming and ranching community.

“The White House also sent out a Presidential Directive that made sure our meat processing plants were able to function,” Good added. “Without that directive, we could’ve lost the ability to keep the beef supply flowing.”

Neither blizzard nor global pandemic will keep farmers and ranchers from caring for their crops and livestock. Trump made it official with his executive order that dubbed the agricultural industry a collective group of essential workers. Farmers and ranchers perfected the work-from-home scenario long before it was a possibility for any other industry.

It only took a global pandemic for people to realize how important the agricultural industry was to a thriving economy. Although the Trump administration developed assistance programs for the general population, they didn’t forget about rural America in that.

Following on the heels of the $19 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, the USDA announced, on April 19, that they would purchase and distribute $3 billion in agricultural products. The agency worked with various locations to find areas that were hit In a live webinar hosted by the USDA, panelists discussed the finer details of how the “Farmers to Family Food Box” would function. Trump and his administration designed the program to help prevent producers from destroying their crops and livestock as demand was driven downward by the pandemic.

During the webinar, Agricultural Marketing Service Deputy Administrator for the Commodity Procurement Program Dave Tuckwiller said, “Most of you are living and breathing through the toughest situation right now. We’ve heard reports, and talked to a number of you, that are dumping fresh produce and milk. There’s talk of euthanizing certain farm animals. Food distributors are laying off employees as the need plummeted on the food service side.”

Tuckwiller continued by pointing out how food bank needs have increased while donations and volunteers virtually disappeared. This program was designed to link those challenges together with a solution.

“Traditionally, the cattle industry doesn’t get handouts, they just want to be paid for their product,” Good said. “It’s been an unprecedented time frame where something else was needed and the administration was able to do that.”

Good added that some producers saw payments as early as a week after taking action.

2018 FARM BILL

Although negotiations for the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, aka the farm bill, went well past the expiration date of the previous bill, the resulting document might’ve been worth the wait. The $87 billon farm bill was hyper-focused on improving support programs, crop insurance, disaster programs, and conservation efforts on farm ground.

One area that saw a lot of change in the farm bill was the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). In an effort to reward U.S. producers for their efforts to be good stewards of the land, the CRP furthered this agenda and was geared towards building a partnership in the process.

“The CRP was a nice change,” Sampson said. “It made the program more attractive for people to use. It allowed for marginal-yield farm ground that didn’t need to be farmed to get back into the program. It’s good for agriculture because it takes acres out of production and it lets some ground go back to its native habitat.”

The CRP primarily provides landowners with financial compensation for voluntarily removing land from production. That land is typically vulnerable to erosion and is more environmentally sensitive. Removing these acres from production requires those landowners to either preserve the wildlife habitat in that area or install resourceconserving efforts.

The farm bill was also helpful for the livestock industry. It required the USDA to conduct a feasibility study to determine if creating a livestock dealer statutory trust was necessary.

“Within the livestock markets, we have some issues with dealer payment defaults,” Good said. “We want to see better protection for producers so they can get paid.”

The USDA has worked closely with many entities within the livestock industry. And in doing so, they’ve cultivated a positive, open network that wasn’t necessarily there previously.

“They [the USDA] has been great to work with. They got the study done on time and it was very positive,” Good added. “They found that the trust would be a big help to the industry and now we are working with Congress to see that put in place. The [Trump] administration has done a great job of tackling that.”

Legalizing hemp production was one of the other major changes producers saw in the 2018 farm bill. Dispensaries are quickly popping up in towns across the nation as a direct result of this change in 2018.

“Anytime we introduce another crop to grow other than corn, soybeans, and wheat, and if they can find a market for that, it helps [producers’] livelihood and fill that fiber gap,” Sampson said of the novel crop. “It’s also giving chemical and seed companies something new to work with because the introduction of industrial hemp requires new herbicides and possibly new seed treatments. It’s just another thing that helps give us [farmers] a competitive advantage.”

Some agricultural insurance and protection programs were also changed in the farm bill to help mitigate risk.

TRADE TWEETS

Possibly the hottest topic when it comes to President Trump relates to his twitter account. He’s more than outspoken on a social media platform that limits authors to only 280 characters and doesn’t allow tweets to be edited. Producers might not agree with Trump’s main form of communication, but most stand behind his ideals and the direction he’s attempting to take the country.

One of those directions is negotiating new trade deals with major export destinations. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) went into effect on July 1 and replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“The USMCA has given us some predictability for U.S. beef across the North American market,” Good said. “Some of the big steps forward from the Trump administration concerning trade includes leveling the playing field and getting us beef access to Japan as well as some access to China where a fifth of the world population lives.”

Phase 1 of trade negotiations with China were signed in late January with intentions of moving forward with more discussions for improved agreements. Unfortunately, COVID-19 disrupted those conversations and has also dumped relations between the U.S. and China in murky water.

“Something needed to be done with China, the trade policy wasn’t fair for us or them,” Sampson said. “I don’t think Trump has attacked full force yet, but he has caused a lot of shakiness in the market.”

The trade agreement with China was intended to greatly bolster the agricultural markets. Historically, China’s highest U.S. import Experts are skeptical that China will be able to deliver on this promise, but it’s certainly one of the stronger trade deals agriculture has seen in recent years.

“From the livestock perspective, we’ve seen increased access to trade rather than the other way around,” Good said.

THE BEEF

“[Trump] has been a huge champion for rural America and the cattle industry in particular,” Good said. “We work with the USDA every day, and one thing we’ve seen improvement in is the culture of regulation. With Purdue at the helm, [the USDA] has a mindset that our goal, together, is to do right and feed everyone.”

Past presidential administrations used their agencies to play big brother, but Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue have played the game a bit differently.

“[The USDA] is focused on how we work together and giving us the tools we need to do everything the right way,” Good said. “The culture is focused on being helpful. Some of the regulation roll backs have also been helpful. An example would be the U.S. Waters of the World (WOTUS) rule.”

Introduced in 2015 under the Clean Water Rule, WOTUS was viewed as a gross overreach of power from President Barack Obama and his administration. Although the intent was to clearly define federal jurisdiction over waterways, producers saw it as a way to get in trouble for their animals walking through ditch water. As far-fetched as the Obama administration said that claim was, Trump knew WOTUS wasn’t a fair way to accomplish the original goal.

“From a livestock producer standpoint, [the repeal] allows us the peace of mind that if you have a question or concern you can talk to the USDA,” Good said. “[The USDA] are your partners and aren’t out to get you. It helps us be more productive in our day-to-day work.”

Part of that day-to-day work involves protecting workers at packing plants during a global pandemic. When COVID-19 began showing up in packing plants, the government was on hand to help.

Businesses worked with the government to spread people out and provide personal protective equipment (PPE) while continuing to operate. Packing plants are built with efficiency and safety in mind, which made spreading people out a difficult and somewhat costly process.

Another concern from the livestock industry through the pandemic was the supply and demand spread for beef prices. Food flew off the shelves when the quarantine began; ground beef in particular was in high demand and packing plants took advantage of this spike in sales.

“We saw lower prices for cattle and higher prices for beef when the pandemic started,” Good explained. “The Department of Justice is investigating packing plants and trying to see if they are too consolidated and if there is any illegal activity going on.”

Trump has made public comments about his support for the investigation. The huge profit margins for the packers while g

“We hope the investigation is very thorough and comes back with some clear answers,” Good said. “If illegal things are going on, then they need to be addressed. And if they aren’t, the cattle industry needs that answer as well. We appreciate the fact that Trump is on board with taking a look at the packing sector.”

2024 OUTLOOK

Moving forward, it’s a fair expectation that Trump will continue fulfilling the promises he made back in 2016. As the old saying goes, things have to get worse before they can get better. Many producers will agree that things have gotten worse in some areas.

In late 2015, Sampson and his then fiancé purchased their current land. They calculated future grain prices to ensure they could continue to afford running their operation.

“We thought we had figured conservatively of what grain prices would be over the next five years,” Sampson said. “Our most conservative grain price is still above what we’re at today. It’s been very discouraging just getting started and having low commodity prices. But if we had to go back and do it again, we would.”

Luckily, both Sampson and his wife have off-farm jobs that help keep the operation afloat in times like these.

“[Trump] has taken care of the farmer through all of this and we’ve seen that through several different payments and loan options,” Sampson said. “He hasn’t turned his back on the farmers through all this, he knows it has affected the commodity market and he’s been doing his best to keep us moving forward.” Although U.S. farmers and ranchers recognize the large role regulations play in their operation, they are still very much a do-ityourself group of people. Finding new technology to improve yields and the continuous search for improved sustainability are at the helm of agriculture in 2020.

The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is just one example of how producers forge their own paths when it comes to finding realistic solutions for their issues.

“There are a lot of things the cattle sector has done already to help themselves,” Good said. “But it’s important that we make sure the industry comes up with solutions rather than trying to dictate regulatory answers that aren’t necessarily fitting in the real world.”

Good’s statement goes for all areas of agriculture. Farmers and ranchers do more than plow the ground and feed the animals, their moves are calculated precisely to use their resources responsibly and efficiently to feed, fuel, and clothe the world.

It is certainly a breath of fresh air that President Trump not only recognizes the importance of including producers in finding solutions, but also whole-heartedly embraces the idea.

“This is something I see in our current environment that we’re working on that I would hate to lose,” Good added. “Moving to an administration that doesn’t work with the industry to achieve good environmental outcomes that allows business to operate would be taking a step backwards for the agricultural industry.”

Unless the Democratic nominees include agriculture in their campaign plans and build confidence that they will uphold them, it’s safe to say Trump is the best candidate to keep America growing in the right direction.