Democrats have abandoned agricultural economy, but conservatives have solutions

OPINION:

Before the spy balloon, concerns about China buying U.S. farmland were the latest in a series of concerns for America’s agriculture community under President Biden and Democrats in Washington. Thwarted access to markets, broken supply chains, skyrocketing input costs, and historic levels of inflation have crippled American farmers and passed higher prices on to consumers.

With a new speaker in place, House Republicans must hold the Biden administration accountable. Addressing inflation would be a great start. It’s a scourge that touches every aspect of life, including the ability to put food on the table. The most recent consumer price index indicates that inflation may be easing, but it doesn’t feel that way in the heartland. For example, farmer input costs remain at historic highs. Estimates indicate that farmers spent 40% more to grow last year’s crop than two years earlier — a cost that will eventually be passed on to consumers.

To reduce costs for farmers and consumers, conservatives in the agriculture community must push policies minimizing regulatory and market barriers. Here are five places to start.

First, markets must be opened for American agriculture via new fair trade agreements. For the first time since the Carter administration, the White House is not in active pursuit of a new tariff-reducing trade agreement, breaking a decadeslong bipartisan commitment to opening new markets for u.S. farmers.  

Indeed, the Biden administration abandoned active negotiations with the United Kingdom, Japan, India and Kenya. While the United States sits idle, the rest of the world is inking new pacts that set the terms of trade to our disadvantage. In January 2022, China signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the largest free trade agreement in the world that covers nearly one-third of the world, continuing to spread its global economic influence.

Second, American agriculture needs workforce and immigration reforms that resolve our workforce shortage. That starts with an immigration policy that secures our borders against illegal immigration, sets economy-boosting visa policies, and resolves the status of Dreamers. In addition, we need to get more Americans back to work. The latest labor participation rate showed 2.6 million people missing from the workforce, a concerning trend.

Third, the agriculture bioeconomy must be developed via access to voluntary programs and market-based policies. Our farmers are the most innovative and sustainable in the world. American agriculture can feed the growing global population and serve as the foundation for a broad array of new renewable chemicals, plastics and textiles that respond to market demand for lower carbon emissions and other environmental benefits.

Fourth, Congress must reverse excessive regulations and mandates from the Biden era. Our essential crop insurance and conservation programs should not be tied down with liberal climate change schemes. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s harmful proposal that would require extensive climate disclosures by public companies must be opposed. Any effort to impose a carbon border adjustment must be met with strong opposition. A carbon border tax would increase the cost of fertilizer and lead to even higher food costs, as well as making buildings and equipment more expensive by taxing imported steel and aluminum.

Providing relief from the administration’s bans related to crop protection tools, stopping the federal government from regulating puddles of water and reinstating the 2020 streamlining of federal decision-making on permit applications, federal land management actions, and highway construction are also on the to-do list.

Finally, G.T. Thompson, the smart and tough chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, should leverage the forthcoming 2023 Farm Bill to advance the conservative agenda and use his oversight authority to investigate liberal barriers to the development of our agriculture economy.

Under a Democratic White House and Senate, many of these proposals face long odds. But putting forward serious solutions to help farmers and consumers shows conservatives are serious about putting forth effective policy that would offer a blueprint for Republican presidential candidates.

The new Republican Congress has plenty on its to-do list. Let’s hope the priorities of rural and agricultural America get the due they deserve.

• John R. Block served as the 21st U.S. secretary of agriculture in the Reagan administration from 1981 to 1986, and Ed Schafer served as the 29th U.S. secretary of agriculture in the George W. Bush administration from 2008 to 2009. They are founding advisory board members of Ag Conservatives.