In his 1905 tome, “The Life of Reason,” philosopher George Santayana wrote:
“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement, and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Hiding your head in the sand. Foolishly ignoring a problem. Avoiding a mountain of unpleasant events. Denying the truth.
It's truly head scratching how Make American Great Again Republicans — a vast number of whom are farmers — believe Donald Trump is their agricultural bestie.
The official record suggests otherwise.
The Trump administration:
- Attempted to minimize USDA's rural development before being stopped by Congress.
- Favored Big-Ag over farmers in revoking Barack Obama rules protecting livestock producers from exploitation.
- Weakened oversight of Big Meat, again to the detriment of the individual farmer, by placing the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration under the control of Agricultural Marketing Service.
- Withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement.
- Endangered meat workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- And reduced the workforce of the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture in half by forcing a move from Washington, D.C., to the Kansas City area.
And then there is Trump's failed Economic and Trade Agreement with China. The deal was inked in February 2020. In phase one of the deal, China committed to purchase an additional $32 billion of covered U.S. agricultural products above 2017 levels by the end of 2021.
Jaw dropping. Eye opening. And utter nonsense.
The bottom line was China promised to buy a whopping $80.1 billion in products from U.S. farmers. When all the beans were counted China fell far short, buying $61.1 billion.
A case can be made that the current guy in the White House, Joe Biden, has done more for farmers.
So what about the November elections? Who ya got? And why?
Trump has been radio silent when it comes to what he'd do in a second term when it comes to U.S. agriculture. I think MAGA farmers need to beware because the tea leaves are not promising.
The game is afoot. And if successful, farmers will be grasping by their fingernails to the short end of the stick.
The right-leaning Heritage Foundation is collaborating with some 80 like-minded groups to "rescue the country from the grip of the radical left” and “take back our government.”
The crown jewel of that effort is “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” a 920-page document designed to usher in an ultra conservative agenda. If fully realized, U.S. agriculture will look far different.
The mandate recommends:
- Repeal of the Agricultural Risk and Price Loss Coverage Programs. “Farmers eligible to participate in ARC or PLC are generally already able to purchase federal crop insurance, policies that protect against shortfalls in expected revenue whether caused by lower prices or smaller harvests.”
- If repeal of ARC and PLC is not possible, prevent farmers from double-dipping by receiving an ARC or PLC payment the same year they receive a federal crop insurance indemnity.
- Increase premiums farmers must pay to receive federal crop insurance. “At a minimum, taxpayers should not pay more than 50 percent of the premium. After all, taxpayers should not have to pay more than the farmers who benefit from the crop insurance policies.”
- Repeal the federal sugar program. “The federal government should not be in the central planning business, and the sugar program is a prime example of harmful central planning. Its very purpose is to limit the sugar supply in order to increase prices.”
- Move oversight of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, and a host of other food service programs from USDA to the Department of Health and Human Services. “There are means-tested food-support programs in the USDA (specially FNS), whereas most means-tested programs are at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). All means-tested antipoverty programs should be overseen by one department — specifically HHS, which handles most welfare programs.” Separation would mean future farm bills would focus almost exclusively on farming issues and practices. Whether or not on balance that is beneficial to producers is debatable.
- Call for elimination of the Conservation Reserve Program. “Farmers should not be paid in such a sweeping way not to farm their land. If there is a desire to ensure that extremely sensitive land is not farmed, this should be addressed through targeted efforts that are clearly connected to addressing a specific and concrete environmental harm.”
- Eliminate reform of the dietary guidelines. “There is no shortage of private sector dietary advice for the public, and nutrition and dietary choices are best left to individuals to address their personal needs. This includes working with their own health professionals.”
Trump has not weighed in personally on the Project 2025 playbook. Nor will he. And you won't hear these policy objectives shared with the public at this fall's Republican National Convention. But hard right MAGA loyalists are currently being recruited to run all administrative departments. Hard. Right. Loyalists.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Don't say you haven't been warned.
