Election is behind us — lessons hopefully learned
As the Nov. 3 election results settle in, it will take time to sort out the implications for rural America.
We first need to be thankful that our election process was peaceful and orderly. The United States is the gold standard for conducting elections.
There will be a significant number of new members on the House and Senate agriculture committees. Our hope is that the groundwork is in place for Farm Bill 2.0 to get approved by the end of the year. Farmers, ranchers, and rural communities are counting on that bill. House and Senate members who have spent many hours in hearings hopefully can feel a sense of relief by Christmas.
Leaders in both parties say the agriculture committees demonstrated how bipartisanship and compromise can work. Today’s environment makes it more difficult. On Nov. 3, voters sent a message they want senators and representatives to work together and seek solutions rather than gridlock.
Pundits say every election has a voter mandate. It is apparent that voters in the High Plains were frustrated with high fuel bills, input costs and, maybe most notably, the feeling their concerns were not being heard. The potential for data centers in rural landscapes sparked concerns about private property and landowner rights.
President Donald Trump asked voters to act as if he was on the ballot. Americans saw it otherwise including the High Plains. Trump’s tariffs have imposed higher costs on farmers and the industries that serve them and interfered with markets. Ranchers were upset with the administration when it allowed beef imports. News releases about trade deals seemed hollow when China largely passed on buying U.S. soybeans and sorghum.
Agricultural interests in the High Plains, while supportive of some tariffs against adversaries and countries that in effect excluded U.S. products, could only shake their heads about how the administration seemed to single out Canada and, to a lesser degree, Mexico — two of our top trading partners.
The High Plains agricultural economy depends on trade, and many people were patient until they ran out of patience. That showed in Kansas, where incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican, lost to Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton. In Iowa, Democrats took a Senate seat when state Representative Josh Turek defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson to replace Joni Ernst, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Elections give disenfranchised voters a way to make changes.
On Nov. 3, voters showed that the status quo was not acceptable. There will be a brief reprieve, but constituents demonstrated they were in no mood for complacency.
Republicans and Democrats, along with rural and urban interests, have fences to mend, but voters have sent a message that they are not going to be patient. They want more voices to speak up, including those of farmers and ranchers who are also concerned with the direction of the country.
Time will tell.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
