There’s a new president and a new Congress in Washington and a new set of concerns for farmers.
“There’s going to be a lot of noise and at times our unscripted president will say something, and our hair will be on fire, but in agriculture, we always need to be ready to make our case,” said Nation Council of Farmers Cooperators president and CEO Chuck Conner at Dairy Strong.
Immigration and tariffs are the two top concerns facing the ag industry in the coming year, he continued. Whether it is higher tariffs or a crackdown on illegal immigration, the ag industry has “a right to be nervous.”
Farmers should be concerned about the probability of new tariffs, which could result in corresponding retaliatory tariffs and a decline in exports, said Michael Torrey, president of the Torrey Advisory Group, a Washington-based bipartisan consulting group focused on farm and ag issues.
“Trump knows he can’t lose rural votes since in two years, the whole House is up for a vote,” he said. “They need farmer support.”
One piece of legislation important to farmers — a new farm bill — is not on the top of Congress’ to do list, but it could still get done, Conner said.
“A key part in making a new Farm Bill work will likely be some cuts to the SNAP program, but significant cuts will sink the bill since you don’t want to be taking food away from those who need it,” he said. “But I think the Farm Bill might get done, especially if it is included in a giant (budget) reconciliation bill.”
This year’s Dairy Strong conference brought over 400 attendees, representing over 150,000 cows, and industry professionals to Green Bay for the annual conference.
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