Trump Maintains Strong Support From Agriculture

Support for President Donald Trump remains quite strong, according to the latest Farm Journal Pulse Survey. Mr. Trump’s approval rating among farmers is at 77% according to the poll. 

The survey of 912 farmers and ranchers asked, “When it comes to issues impacting agriculture, do you approve of the job President Donald Trump is doing?” Only 23% said they disapprove.

That support comes amid questions of how the Trump Administration actions will impact policy important to American agriculture. The president offered more tough talk on trade in his State of the Union address this past Tuesday saying, “The era of economic surrender is totally over. From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and very importantly, reciprocal. We will work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones, and they’ll be good ones. But they’ll be fair, and we will protect American workers and American intellectual property through strong enforcement of our trade rules.”

The president has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), drawing concern from farm groups.

The State of the Union speech also included tough language on immigration, calling for a tightened border and restrictions on visas, while also offering a path to citizenship for so-called “dreamers” who were brought to the U.S. as minors. Trump’s plan, however, does not address the immigrant labor shortages faced by farmers and ranchers.

The administration, however, has won kudos across farm country for action on regulatory relief. Just this week EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, signed an order to delay implementation of the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule for two years. The rule, under the Clean Water Act, has been opposed by farm groups because of the regulatory uncertainty it created for farming practices. The EPA has also filed to withdraw the Obama administration’s version of the rule.