Ag Web: Warning of ‘War’ on Farmers, Trump Seeks Support in Iowa

Howdy,

I gave the two primary presidential candidates websites a good look today. Getting past the hype and down to the nuts and bolts of policy positions in this year’s presidential race is far from an easy task. It takes a serious effort.

I noticed that Hillary’s campaign website covers many more issues in much greater detail than does Donald’s. She is a long time policy wonk, he is a businessman and real estate developer. Their life experience is as different as their styles.

Because U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton served in the U.S. Senate, she has a track record on agriculture. Her voting records received favorable marks based on NFU’s top issues used for evaluation. She is thought by most to have done a good job of representing northern New York state agricultural and rural interests. I know she hired a good number of Farmers Union staff away from NFU while in the White House and in the U.S. Senate, and they are very loyal to her. That is a good sign.

On the other hand, since he has not been elected to public office, Donald Trump has no public track record on agriculture. We have only his campaign position papers and speech statements to go by. We know that his stance on immigration issues has been a concern for many of the main line farm organizations that have worked together on immigration reform. His plan adversely impacts the labor supply for vegetables, fruits, nuts, hogs, and dairy in particular.

The differences between the two candidates on climate change are night and day different. Hillary wins hands down on that critical issue based on our policy. I was disappointed that neither candidate seems to have a clearly defined farm and food policy relative to commercial agriculture that I have seen. Hillary clearly supports farm to table and local foods, I suspect that is based on the agriculture she served in northern New York. Both candidates cause our ag organizational free trader counterparts major heartburn on trade, and both candidates mirror much of Farmers Union’s longstanding position on trade policy. Both oppose TPP. That causes me to smile. Our concerns about currency manipulation and Value Added Taxes more than offsetting tariff reductions and causing massive trade deficits is finally taking hold.

Getting down to business, what do we really know about the farm, food, environmental, and rural policies of the two candidates?

For more information on the “positions on the issues by the candidates”, I suggest you visit their official campaign websites and take a look for yourself:

Hillary Clinton: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/

Donald Trump: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions

As we all know too well, rural America and family farm agriculture is in a serious financial crisis. We need all candidates for public office from the local to the national level to put on their thinking caps and bring serious ideas, focus, and solutions to the major price based issues facing family farm agriculture. We need our candidates to be at their best. Now is the time for us to get their attention, if they are listening.

All the best,

John K. Hansen, President

Nebraska Farmers Union

1305 Plum Street, Lincoln, NE 68502

402-476-8815 Office 402-476-8859 Fax

402-476-8608 Home 402-580-8815 Cell

john

www.nebraskafarmersunion.org

AgWeb

Warning of ‘War’ on Farmers, Trump Seeks Support in Iowa

AUGUST 29, 2016 10:24 AM

By Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump warned Saturday of a "war on the American farmer," telling a crowd in Iowa that rival Hillary Clinton "wants to shut down family farms" and implement anti-agriculture policies.

Trump’s speech at the annual "Roast and Ride" fundraiser for Republican Sen. Joni Ernst came just hours after Clinton received her first national security briefing as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Trump skipped the 42-mile motorcycle ride that preceded the event in a state where polls show a tight contest, a rare bright spot for Trump amid a sea of challenging battleground states. Joining him on stage were top Iowa Republicans — among them Ernst, Gov. Terry Branstad, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Steve King — in a rare show of support for a candidate who has struggled to unite his party.

In a hat tip to Iowa’s agriculture industry, Trump renewed his commitment to continuing a requirement that all gasoline sold contain an ethanol-based additive, an issue important to corn growers. He also promised to cut taxes on family farms, which he called the "backbone" of the country.

"Hillary Clinton wants to shut down family farms just like she wants to shut down the mines and the steelworkers," he said in front of a wall of straw bales at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. "She will do this not only through radical regulation, but also by raising taxes on family farms – and all businesses – to rates as high as nearly 50 percent."

Clinton’s campaign website touts a plan to increase funding to support farmers and ranchers in local food markets and regional food systems, saying she’ll create a "focused safety net to help family farms get through challenging times." It also says she plans to target federal resources in commodity payment, crop insurance, and disaster assistance programs to support family operations.

Branstad, in an interview with The Associated Press prior to the speech, said he felt that Trump could score points against Clinton by focusing on agricultural issues. Branstad, whose son runs Trump’s campaign in the state, said he also hopes Trump would launch campaign ads there and that he sees the race as "about even."

"I don’t like that but, hopefully, that’s going to change," Branstad said.

Speaking to an overwhelmingly white crowd, he again pledged that as president he would help African-Americans living in cities with high crime and low employment. He offered no specifics for how he would achieve that goal. He also continued to criticize Clinton for branding young criminals as "super-predators" in comments more than 20 years ago.

"Remember that? ‘Super-predators,’" he said. "And they were very, very insulted. But now people have forgotten." Clinton’s primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, had criticized her for the remark, and she has since apologized for it.

Amid his ongoing appeal to black voters, Trump drew an online backlash Saturday for a tweet he sent in response to the shooting death of NBA star Dwyane Wade’s cousin, who was gunned down near the Chicago school where she had planned to register her children.

"Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!" Trump tweeted. He later sent a tweet offering his "condolences to Dwyane Wade and his family."

Campaigning in Florida, Clinton running mate Tim Kaine said, "We just ought to be extending our sympathy to the family," and added, "That’s the only reaction that’s appropriate right now."

Clinton met Saturday for more than two hours with intelligence officials at the FBI office in White Plains, New York, for her first overview of the major threats facing the nation around the globe since becoming the Democratic nominee. Trump received his briefing earlier this month, a customary move for major party nominees but one that has been the subject of a political tussle during the campaign.

Trump also previewed his immigration plans at the Iowa event, saying that he was developing an "exit-entry tracking system to ensure those who overstay their visas, that they’re quickly removed." The proposal echoed the language of Trump’s former primary rival, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is now advising him.