OMAHA (DTN) -- President Joe Biden on Wednesday said there is no reason farming can't be more profitable and pointed to waves of spending initiatives by Congress and his administration in the past three years.
Biden visited the Kluver farm near Northfield, Minnesota, as the White House looks to increase support in rural America and counter a primary challenge from a largely unknown Minnesota congressman.
Brad Kluver, who introduced the president, said he has wanted to farm alongside his family since he was a kid. He said there is a bridge between how different people view words such as sustainability.
"And I never wanted to be the biggest farmer out there. My goal has always been to leave a resilient, productive, and sustainable legacy for my children," Kluver said. "When I think of sustainability, I envision our farm being financially viable into the next generation."
Leading up to Biden's visit, DTN also talked to Brad Kluver's father, Rusty Kluver, about his farm operation and some concerns he has for the president. See it here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….
RECOVERING FROM LOST FARMS
Biden used some comments Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has repeatedly cited recently that the country has lost more than 400,000 farmers since 1980 and more than 141 million acres of farmland. "Facing higher costs and earning less, family farms have struggled to make the math work and the promise of keeping the farm in the family is slipping out of reach for so many across America," Biden said.
He pointed to a ripple effect -- when farms are lost, so are small businesses, rural hospitals and local schools. All of that translates into young people leaving rural communities.
"I watched it happen all across America," Biden said. "Now, we're going in [our] economy from the middle out and the bottom up instead of the top down. Which is a practical reason for that. When the middle class does well for everybody else and the wealthy still do very well, as everybody does better when rural America does well, when Indiana country does well, we all do well."
The president noted farmers receive roughly 18 cents out of every dollar spent at a grocery store, but if they sell locally the producers can receive 50 cents to 75 cents out of every dollar for the same product.
Biden pointed to the value of renewable energy and the "bio-economy," which has helped farm incomes as well. The president cited "homegrown biofuels" contribute nearly $3 billion to Minnesota's economy each year.
Still, the president reiterated criticisms he brought up early in his administration that livestock producers have been forced to rely on selling their hogs and cattle to just a handful of meat processors. "There are only a handful that exist and they have outsized control over the industry and they set the prices as well."
He added, "Because so few companies control so much of the market, if one of those processing plants goes offline, it can cause massive supply chain disruptions, slowing production and costing farmers."
This happened in 2020 during the pandemic lockdown when packing workers were sick. Brad Kluver at that time actually went on social media to start selling hogs to anyone who would come to the farm to buy them.
FUNDING IN RURAL AMERICA
The president then went into highlighting investments to stimulate more local processing capacity, as well as other spending on infrastructure such as roads, bridges and rural broadband. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) also is retooling renewable energy investments and adding $19.5 billion to help farmers install more conservation practices, or "climate-smart agriculture."
The White House laid out $5 billion in various USDA spending this year that includes $1.7 billion of the IRA dollars as well as other spending in Rural Development.
With the administration's "barnstorming" plan, various administration officials will be traveling across rural America in the coming weeks with new spending or agenda announcements in hand. The White House will roll out new investments in port facilities, for instance, on Friday.
While the president didn't mention the war in Ukraine, he did open his remarks by discussing the war in the Gaza Strip and Israel. He noted after nearly a month some safe passage out of Gaza was being allowed for foreign nationals and Palestinians. Biden stressed the need for both diplomacy and humanitarian aid.
"The United States is going to continue to drive humanitarian support for innocent people in Gaza who need help -- and they do. And we know we're going to continue to affirm that Israel has the right to respond responsibly and defend its citizens from terror. And it needs to do so in a manner that is consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritizes protection of citizens. We've all seen the devastating images from Gaza."
GOP REACTION
The president's trip to Minnesota didn't come without some partisan response. David Hann, the chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party, issued a statement saying the only reason Biden was in Minnesota is because he is now facing a primary challenge from Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips. Hann pointed to polling showing Biden's support among Democrats is falling.
"Biden's visit to Minnesota isn't about repackaging his failed economic policies; it's to shore up support with Democrats and block Phillip's campaign from gaining strength," Hann stated. Hann added, "It is becoming increasingly more obvious that both Democrats and Republicans know that if the election were held today, Biden would lose. And Biden wouldn't be coming to Minnesota if he didn't think it was true."
Beyond a primary, the presidential election -- now a year away -- is already setting up as a possible rematch with former President Donald Trump who has dominated the rural vote in each of the past two elections. Trump has been aggressively campaigning in Iowa in recent months and typically talks about his support from farmers.
"I got Iowa and the farm states, Nebraska, Wisconsin and others," Trump said in Sioux City last week, according to WHO-TV in Des Moines. "I got farmers $28 billion from China. I said, 'There's no way that Iowa is voting against Trump,'" Trump said.
Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ChrisClaytonDTN
(c) Copyright 2023 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.