Letters to the Editor

The views expressed are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of DTN, its management or employees.

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To the Editor:

Four years ago, I expressed extreme concern about a second term for Donald Trump. I believe the danger, particularly for agriculture, is much greater this time around. As a lifelong farmer, I'm accustomed to taking unpredictability in stride. The prospect of too much rain, too little rain, devastating wind or hail, and frigid winter blizzards are the things that keep me -- and other agriculture producers -- awake at night. And while these climatic challenges have always been a fact of life, they have only been exacerbated since 2020. Yet Donald Trump scoffs at this changing reality. America's agricultural producers do not need a White House or administration that adds another layer of unpredictability, yet that is exactly what the Trump administration generated over their four-year term with their actions regarding trade, climate, and pandemic response and promises to do so again if reelected.

2024 has seen an ever-growing litany of extreme climate events, including two historic hurricanes in the past several weeks. These have unleashed death, unimaginable destruction, and heartache to large swaths of both rural and urban America. America needs leadership that understands that agriculture must be prepared for these events and that agriculture can provide meaningful solutions to the climate challenges facing our planet. Rural America is well positioned to provide substantial amounts of alternative energy through solar and wind power generation and biofuels. The previous Trump administration showed little interest in any of these solutions that rural America can offer. Instead, it would continue full-fledged support of the fossil fuel and coal industries and diminish support for green energy solutions.

As president, Donald Trump's record on trade was chaotic and lacking strategic objectives. From the pullout of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which would have created the world's largest free trade deal, to the misguided trade war with China, agricultural producers were left wondering what could have been. Donald Trump's actions severely impacted the robust trade environment for Nebraska and U.S. products that had been built through significant producer and government investment and years of interpersonal dialogue between U.S. producers and trade partners. Now, Trump threatens massive tariffs without demonstrating that he has even the most basic grasp of how tariffs impact trade and how the end user bears the cost. A just-released study from the National Corn Growers Association and American Soybean Association shows just how devastating retaliatory tariffs by China would be. Agriculture needs leadership in the White House that understands the importance of a global marketplace and that we must engage with other global leaders on trade access. Free trade and market access, along with global leadership in these areas, are traditional Republican values that have been abandoned in today's Republican Party.

As a lifelong Republican, I lament the fact that historical Republican ideals and values have been supplanted by blind devotion to an individual who frequently lavishes praise on autocratic leaders around the globe. The rest of the Republican Party seems to have never seen a conspiracy-laden rabbit hole that didn't at least warrant a look. I don't believe that our nation, and agriculture, can stand another four years of Donald Trump's unpredictability, retribution, and drama in the White House. While I may not support every aspect of the Democratic platform, a return to civilized discourse and respect for our old post-WWII allies would be very welcome and why I'll be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

-- Bart Ruth farms in Butler and Polk Counties, Nebraska, and is a past president of the American Soybean Association and an Eisenhower Fellow for Agriculture.

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