Sunday, November 13, 2016

Farm lobbies have many questions about a Trump administration

"Exactly how President-elect Donald Trump's policies will affect agriculture remains virtually unknown, a group of panelists said at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual convention here the morning after Election Day," Todd Neeley reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

The many questions to be answered include "who will be the next secretary of agriculture, what happens with the next Farm Bill, the fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and trade policy in general, the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, and the fate of the waters of the United States" rule under the Clean Water Act, Neeley writes.

"Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union, said when it's all said and done, he believes trade issues will be what carried the day for Trump in rural America. "Fundamentally, Trump has antipathy for trade agreements. We think we've done not a very good job with these trade agreements. I would say a lot of agriculture and farmers are in support of TPP, but that's not necessarily so for others in rural areas."

Bob Young, chief economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said "I think there's a great deal of optimism at this stage in agriculture with one-party control in Washington. A fair amount of stuff can be done administratively. We hope some administrative action can get some common sense reinstated on how regulations are drafted."

Jon Doggett, executive vice president of the National Corn Growers Association, "said rural America's support of Trump should be a wakeup call to so-called elitists in Washington," Neeley reports, quoting him: "I realize there are a lot of people in this country who are in peril, feel we ignore the concerns people have toward government and institutions," he said. "Agriculture needs to be a part of that. The voters have spoken. We need to start reaching out to one another. Nothing's going to happen if we can't resolve issues."

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