Farmers and Ranchers Get a Seat at the Table
A lot has been said over the years about having a seat at the table. Most of the talking has come from the folks that have the seats to the folks that don't. Historically in Washington DC the seats have been purchased with money, influence and power. That seems to be changing. On February 11 the Trump administration, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, pulled the chairs out and invited five families to come and have a seat at the USDA in Washington DC.
Maude family: South Dakota Ranchers arrested and accused of stealing federal property over a fence line that they had never moved.
King family: Washington state Ranchers currently being fined out of business for cleaning out their stock tanks.
Henry family: New Jersey farm that local authorities attempted to take over using eminent domain for public housing.
Brazil family: Northern California Veterinarian whose entire community will be decimated by the removal of dams in the Potter Valley.
Gaver family: Maryland farmers being forced to allow a transmission line through their property that would destroy their business.
Each of these families have been victims of local, state or federal governmental attacks on their private property rights. She invited them to come and tell their stories. It was done as part of a rollout of the Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework. Read more here
Maybe just as important as who was at the table, was who was not at the table. There were no corporate lobbyists. No trade association heads. No fund raising opportunities, or anyone trying to act more important than the others. No one was there claiming to be the voice of the farmer or rancher. There was just real voices, of real farmers and ranchers. This marks a massive change in how things are being done at the USDA.
"At USDA, we will never stop protecting the fields, the farms, and the freedoms of everyday Americans. Our farmers and ranchers feed, fuel, and clothe us day in and day out, and they deserve to work and live with confidence that their land will remain secure for generations to come."
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Jim Mundorf is the owner of Lonesome Lands and The Drover House. He also works on his family’s farm in Southwest Iowa.
