Five questions before voting in November
By: Chuck Sanger (HoardsDairyman)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
For producers, elections have consequences that reach well beyond traditional political arguments. Decisions made in Washington, D.C., can affect everything from the price received for a bushel of corn to the cost of fertilizer, access to overseas markets, and the availability of labor.
As producers consider their choices in November, five issues deserve particular attention.
1. Can farmers make money?
It sounds obvious, but profitability must come first. As all producers know, strong grocery prices don't necessarily translate into strong farm income. Commodity prices, fertilizer, fuel, seed, equipment, interest rates, and land costs all affect the producer's bottom line. Farmers should ask candidates a simple question: What policies will help American agriculture remain economically sustainable without becoming reliant on government assistance?
2. What is the plan for agricultural trade?
Since American agriculture produces far more than Americans consume, export markets aren't optional; they're essential. Tariffs can protect domestic industries, but political retaliation can quickly make agriculture collateral damage. Producers should look beyond rhetoric about "winning" trade disputes and ask which policies will expand reliable, long-term markets for U.S. meat, dairy, grains, and other agricultural products and their allied industries.
3. Is the farm safety net designed for today's agriculture?
Crop insurance, commodity programs, disaster assistance, and conservation programs remain important components of agricultural policy. But producers should ask whether those programs adequately address today's production costs and risks — and whether government programs are helping farmers manage risk or simply compensating them after something has gone wrong.
4. What will regulation and labor policy mean on the farm?
Environmental regulations, immigration policy, animal agriculture rules, and labor requirements can have enormous consequences at the farm level. Producers need to examine not simply whether candidates favor "more" or "less" regulation, but whether proposed policies are practical, predictable, and based on an understanding of how modern farms operate.
5. Does America have a long-term agricultural strategy?
This is the biggest question of all. Food security, animal disease, farmland preservation, agricultural technology, renewable energy, rural infrastructure, and the declining number of producers are interconnected issues. Agriculture shouldn't be viewed simply as another constituency to be courted every two or four years.
Farmers don't need politicians telling them how important they are. They need policymakers who understand why they are important — and who recognize that maintaining a productive, competitive, and resilient domestic agricultural system is an issue of national security. As November approaches, that may be the most important consideration.
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These questions seem like level-headed, pragmatic political expectations for farmers. But that pragmatism has been clouded by the fact that agriculture has chosen to place itself in this position. Modern monoculture cropping can indeed produce more than the US needs for some commodities. However, farmers are failing to produce everything needed by the US. Our agricultural sector has traded resilience and self-reliance for Federal subsidies, trade policies, and political intervention. The result has ill served both farming and the American consumer.