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View Full Version : Warning: Farmers Are Courting Trump, But They Don't Speak For All Of Rural America



Captain Obvious
11-29-2016, 09:02 PM
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/11/29/503182640/the-farmers-courting-trump-dont-speak-for-rural-america


The day after Donald Trump swept to victory, the head of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Zippy Duvall, released a videotaped statement (http://www.fb.org/newsroom/statement-by-zippy-duvall-president-american-farm-bureau-federation-re7) aimed at the President-elect and other political leaders in Washington.
"Rural America turned out and made their voice heard in this election," he said. "Now it's time for our elected leaders to support rural America."
In his statement, Duvall referred interchangeably to "rural Americans" and "America's farmers and ranchers," suggesting that those are the same people.
In reality, they're not. Farmers make up a small minority in the rural population, with different priorities and agendas than their non-farming neighbors.
I explored these differences recently during a trip across parts of northern Indiana. It's a landscape dominated by wide fields of corn and soybeans and giant grain silos.
In Kosciusko County, near the tiny town of Leesburg, I met Kip Tom, a farmer who joined the Trump campaign as an adviser on agricultural policy. Tom's farm (http://www.tomfarms.com/) is one of the biggest in the region. It covers almost 20,000 acres, scattered across seven counties. In those counties, about 70 percent of the votes went for Donald Trump. And Kip Tom thinks Trump will indeed listen to what farmers have to say. "I see Trump being good for agriculture, absolutely," he told me.
On some issues Trump has been right in sync with the major farm groups. They both want less environmental regulation, for instance. Trump has promised to ditch a rule called Waters of the U.S. (http://www.npr.org/2015/05/27/410074561/epa-announces-new-rules-to-protect-u-s-waters), which defines which streams are covered by the Clean Water Act. The rule hasn't actually made much of a practical difference for farmers, but many farmers fear that down the road, it might give the EPA the authority to regulate what they do on the fields that surround small streams.
"Waters of the U.S. was an overreach by the federal government on our private property rights, to come out here and tell us how to operate our farms," said Tom.
But when it comes to other issues, farm organizations want Trump to change his mind. They favor trade deals that Trump attacked during his campaign, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership, which could expand their exports of pork, beef, and grain.
Farm groups also don't want the government to crack down on immigration. Dairy farmers and vegetable growers rely heavily (http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/26/387698016/do-your-veggies-depend-on-workers-who-lack-legal-rights) on immigrant workers. Tom says more people should "walk a day with somebody who's a migrant, who was willing to do the work that others turn their nose to. I think we need to find some passion for those people and find a path toward citizenship for them," he says.
This is the policy wish list for supporting "rural America" that Zippy Duvall, from the American Farm Bureau Federation, mentioned in his post-election statement: Free trade; environmental deregulation; immigration policies that don't take away farm workers; and continued funding for programs that help farmers financially when prices fall or bad weather ruins their crops.
But does the rest of rural America care about these issues? To find out, I drove to the town of Warsaw, the county seat of Kosciusko County.

Safety
11-29-2016, 09:18 PM
Talk about being against one's best interest, Trump wants a wall, but farmers don't want the government to crack down on immigration....

Can't write this irony any better.

Common
11-30-2016, 01:05 AM
Most farming is large corporate farms who harvest by machine and import produce from other countries, peru, quatelmala.

Allowing millions to run over our border for a handful of small farmers is typical of liberal thinking ABSURD.

Small farmers include ethanol corn farmers who screw us all daily and make millions off something that doesnt work.

Small farmers can hire LEGAL IMMIGRANTS THAT ARE HERE ON MIGRANT WORK VISAS like we always did. They come legally for the harvest season then go back.

The left will create any excuse to keep Obamas dream alive of more Illegal immigrants that americans

resister
11-30-2016, 01:25 AM
Most farming is large corporate farms who harvest by machine and import produce from other countries, peru, quatelmala.

Allowing millions to run over our border for a handful of small farmers is typical of liberal thinking ABSURD.

Small farmers include ethanol corn farmers who screw us all daily and make millions off something that doesnt work.

Small farmers can hire LEGAL IMMIGRANTS THAT ARE HERE ON MIGRANT WORK VISAS like we always did. They come legally for the harvest season then go back.

The left will create any excuse to keep Obamas dream alive of more Illegal immigrants that americans
I sat in line 20 minutes at winn dixus the other day.What was I waiting on?About 10 hatians to send our money outta our country.Go O'bummer.Maybe soon,english will no longer be required to send our currency abroads

GrassrootsConservative
11-30-2016, 06:12 AM
Talk about being against one's best interest, Trump wants a wall, but farmers don't want the government to crack down on immigration....

Can't write this irony any better.

That's because the federal government has made minimum wage for legal citizens $9.00 an hour, and that is rising.

Take away the minimum wage YOUR STATIST GOVERNMENT has wrongly put into our system and let people work for however much money they want. Let farmers pay $1.00 an hour if they want to and get the border hoppers out of our country.

Farmers know this, somehow they are more grounded in reality than you are.

/edit: Your kind are ruining this great nation by promoting illegality, theft, violent protests, and disease-spreading sexual abominations.

Crepitus
11-30-2016, 07:12 AM
That's because the federal government has made minimum wage for legal citizens $9.00 an hour, and that is rising.

Take away the minimum wage YOUR STATIST GOVERNMENT has wrongly put into our system and let people work for however much money they want. Let farmers pay $1.00 an hour if they want to and get the border hoppers out of our country.

Farmers know this, somehow they are more grounded in reality than you are.

/edit: Your kind are ruining this great nation by promoting illegality, theft, violent protests, and disease-spreading sexual abominations.

"Let people work for has ever much money they want"?

How can you say that with a straight face?

Safety
11-30-2016, 07:51 AM
"Let people work for has ever much money they want"?

How can you say that with a straight face?

While working for minimum wage at a convenience store.

'murica.

GrassrootsConservative
11-30-2016, 08:04 AM
While working for minimum wage at a convenience store.

'murica.
You want some personal attacks back your way? This thread is not about me, monkey.

/Edit: What about the time when your kind worked for FREE for farmers?

:grin:


24 hours in hole for racist remark.

Safety
11-30-2016, 08:08 AM
LoL

GrassrootsConservative
11-30-2016, 08:10 AM
I'm laughing too, trust me. That's gotta HURT!

GrassrootsConservative
11-30-2016, 08:12 AM
Before I get TB'd I just want to point out that he started it after I pointed out what statists like himself were doing to cause farmers to want illegal work. I pointed that out and he got personal. Then so did I. Cheers.

Safety
11-30-2016, 08:14 AM
LoL

MisterVeritis
11-30-2016, 08:23 AM
While working for minimum wage at a convenience store.
'murica.
If you want to earn more find a wahy to be worth more.

'murica.

Safety
11-30-2016, 08:25 AM
If you want to earn more find a wahy to be worth more.

'murica.

Absolutely, that's why I don't work for minimum wage. You shouldn't waste your time and effort on me, I'm pretty well set, you might want to share that worldly wisdom with the convenience store clerk.

Chris
11-30-2016, 09:00 AM
You want some personal attacks back your way? This thread is not about me, monkey.

/Edit: What about the time when your kind worked for FREE for farmers?

:grin:


Stop calling names.

Green Arrow
11-30-2016, 10:08 AM
Wow.

Captain Obvious
11-30-2016, 10:16 AM
Way out of bounds

Tahuyaman
11-30-2016, 10:56 AM
Talk about being against one's best interest, Trump wants a wall, but farmers don't want the government to crack down on immigration....

Can't write this irony any better.

Illegal vs legal immigration.

del
11-30-2016, 10:59 AM
That's because the federal government has made minimum wage for legal citizens $9.00 an hour, and that is rising.

Take away the minimum wage YOUR STATIST GOVERNMENT has wrongly put into our system and let people work for however much money they want. Let farmers pay $1.00 an hour if they want to and get the border hoppers out of our country.

Farmers know this, somehow they are more grounded in reality than you are.

/edit: Your kind are ruining this great nation by promoting illegality, theft, violent protests, and disease-spreading sexual abominations.


if it weren't for the minimum wage, you'd be living in a cardboard box.

Tahuyaman
11-30-2016, 11:01 AM
if it weren't for the minimum wage, you'd be living in a cardboard box.

and because of the minimum wage, you have a corrogated aluminum roof on your cardboard box.

del
11-30-2016, 11:06 AM
and because of the minimum wage, you have a corrogated aluminum roof on your cardboard box.

i haven't worked for minimum wage since i was 14

try harder, lifelong sucker of the government tit, and have someone teach you how to spell

Tahuyaman
11-30-2016, 11:27 AM
and because of the minimum wage, you have a corrogated aluminum roof on your cardboard box.


i haven't worked for minimum wage since i was 14

try harder, lifelong sucker of the government tit, and have someone teach you how to spell


OK, a corroded corrugated aluminum roof dragged out of the local landfill.