Will Trump Kill the Family Farm?

[21STEELERS21]

I don't think it will be intentional, but it is looking like it could be a consequence of several actions.

1. Withdrawing from TPP (USA farmers were going to be the biggest beneficiaries of this trade deal, with many current trade barriers dropped)
2. Illegal immigrant crackdown (farmers actually started this problem because we don't have an adequate guest worker program and
employ the most illegals) farms will experience rising labor costs and labor shortages.
3. Making an Enemy of Mexico (they are one of our biggest agriculture buyers, buying 2.5 billion bushels of corn alone) they are already looking
to switch their corn buying to Argentina & Brazil.

My prediction is the Corporate farmers will end up buying up the rest of the family farms and farming as a way of family life will become extinct in
the United States. Funny thing is that Trump got most of his support from rural areas and Family Farms are still the backbone of the rural economy.

If he wanted to strengthen family farms he should do these instead:
1. Do immigration reform to include a strong guest worker program to give our Agriculture industry the resource of an adequate labor supply
2. Create better relations with Mexico and assist them with improving their economy so they can increase their imports of our Agriculture products
3. Negotiate TPP to make it a winning trade agreement for the USA

If you want to revitalize our rural economies you start by strengthening the backbone of these areas, the family farms, not accelerating their demise.

 

[CoolieMan]

wow...too bad you aren't President....

 

[Confluence]

I don't think it will be intentional, but it is looking like it could be a consequence of several actions.

1. Withdrawing from TPP (USA farmers were going to be the biggest beneficiaries of this trade deal, with many current trade barriers dropped)
2. Illegal immigrant crackdown (farmers actually started this problem because we don't have an adequate guest worker program and
employ the most illegals) farms will experience rising labor costs and labor shortages.
3. Making an Enemy of Mexico (they are one of our biggest agriculture buyers, buying 2.5 billion bushels of corn alone) they are already looking
to switch their corn buying to Argentina & Brazil.

My prediction is the Corporate farmers will end up buying up the rest of the family farms and farming as a way of family life will become extinct in
the United States. Funny thing is that Trump got most of his support from rural areas and Family Farms are still the backbone of the rural economy.

If he wanted to strengthen family farms he should do these instead:
1. Do immigration reform to include a strong guest worker program to give our Agriculture industry the resource of an adequate labor supply
2. Create better relations with Mexico and assist them with improving their economy so they can increase their imports of our Agriculture products
3. Negotiate TPP to make it a winning trade agreement for the USA

If you want to revitalize our rural economies you start by strengthening the backbone of these areas, the family farms, not accelerating their demise.

I just wanted to memorialize this.

Family farming will be strong again, once the regulatory bs is backed off. EPA, FDA and USDA are all doing similar jobs: wrecking small businesses that can't handle the excessive admin/compliance piece themselves.

I think this will happen sooner rather than later, and USDA will lead.

 

[wig]

[sarcasm]Having grown up in Montana, I can tell you, we were mighty thankful of all those Mexican workers who came and worked up North. And the Ranchers? Man, the Family Rancher couldn't survive without the southern migrant worker.[/sarcasm]

Large Industrial Farming is killing family farms. Large Industrial Farms HIRE migrant workers because it's cheaper. If those large industrial farms were fined into oblivion or shut down because they had illegally hired non-papered workers to save themselves some money, the "Family Farm" would come right back.

Go ahead, ask me how I know that.

 

[oneforthebus]

Wait, so the job of the government is to ensure that we keep a supply of cheap, illegal near-slave labor around so businesses who couldn't otherwise stay afloat can continue to do so? But McDonalds has to pay people 15.00/hour?

Liberals confuse me.