| Holding the Thin Green Line in San Antonio |
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| The Sugar Beat |
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It was fitting that farmers from across the country were in San Antonio this week for the annual National Farmers Union (NFU) convention.
Like the historic Battle of the Alamo synonymous with the city, today’s agricultural industry could also be described as a few brave souls holding the line.
In fact, General Wesley Clark the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, recently credited U.S. farmers and ranchers as being “the thin green line standing between prosperity and disaster.”
If such a comparison seems overblown, consider events of the past month.
As America’s breadbasket shoveled out from snowstorm after snowstorm—showing just how unpredictable Mother Nature can be—newspapers were full of stories about global food challenges caused by weather anomalies abroad and shrinking output in foreign nations.
Meanwhile, France—serving as the president of the G20—demanded more transparency and less investor speculation in worldwide commodity markets to minimize volatile price and production swings.
Fortunately, America has the most efficient farmers and ranchers in the world to help insulate us from these problems.
Unfortunately, the thin green line continues to shrink and come under attack from environmental zealots and questionable budget, trade, tax, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-driven proposals.
“If we cannot feed, fuel and clothe ourselves, then we cannot defend ourselves,” General Clark said. “If this one bright spot in our economy is choked off, then recession recovery will certainly stall. And, if rural America falters, we open the floodgate to even more fuel produced by nation states that do not share our values and strategic interests—and our country is less secure.”
So, how does America “hold the thin green line," as Clark put it?
Fewer assaults on the technologies and innovations farmers need to boost yields and feed an expanding population would be a good place to start. Impediments to the invention and implementation of advanced seed and crop protection products must be stopped.
Collin Peterson (MN), the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, had another great idea when he suggested reigning in the EPA because, “They're raising costs for [farmers], they're raising the price of food, and I don't think they're accomplishing anything.”
Then there are the attempts to gut what’s left of the policies producers need to mitigate the very risks that are burning the rest of the world today. Such attempts in the name of fiscal responsibility are both disingenuous and nonsensical.
Farm policy accounts for one-fourth of one percent of the [U.S.] budget, so it would take 1,093 years to eliminate the current [federal] debt on the backs of farmers.
Not to mention, it’s irresponsible to weaken ag policies at a time when the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City praised agriculture for kick-starting the country’s economy while simultaneously warning that farm debt has risen "the fastest since the prelude to the 1980s farm debt crisis.”
Of course, the biggest threat to modern-day agriculture might be a simple lack of understanding and communication. At no time in history has America been so far removed from its rural roots. City jobs and skyscrapers have taken the place of tractors and barns, and as a result, most Americans have lost contact with the people who produce their food.
Beating back environmental and political attacks will be a tall order, but reconnecting should be a no-brainer.
Next time farmers and ranchers are in town—and we will be because we love San Antonio— take a moment to say hello. Learn about what we do, and tell us what’s on your mind. After all, reconnecting is a two-way street and farmers need to do a better job of listening to our customers.
Just as Texans so famously rallied behind San Antonio 175 years ago, we all must rally together today to hold the thin green line—our nation’s security depends on it.
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About the author: Bill Hejl is a corn, sugar, and soybean farmer from Amenia, North Dakota. Hejl served in the United States Air Force and North Dakota Air National Guard for 34 years.
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