The above political campaign advertisement has been getting a lot of traction lately due to Joni’ Ernst’s opening line.
“I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm.”
Many late night comedians had a good time discussing the advertising, with both Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert “endorsing” Ms. Ernst. Ms. Ernst ends with an equally appealing line aimed at cutting pork spending in Washington DC: “Let’s make ’em squeal.”
Now, I’ll admit, I don’t know anything about Joni Ernst’s positions on any issues, but her candidacy — and recent national attention — makes me happy. For one thing, I enjoy seeing a fellow farmer’s daughter standing up and taking a leadership position!
But I also know that we need agriculture to be involved in politics and elections.
Besides the weather, bad policies or laws are one of the biggest burdens on farming operations. The estate tax, food safety regulations, labeling requirements, and animal welfare are just a few issues that tend to get discussed and voted upon. Although I spend a lot of time preaching consumer education, we also can’t forget about elections.
We have far too few farmers in the halls of Congress and our state legislatures. For example, in Michigan there is only one state house member with a farming background, yet the state’s second largest industry, behind automobiles, is agriculture!
And the issues being brought up in our legislative bodies are more complex than those in a prior era. Today many opponents of agriculture, such as HSUS, cling to ballot box measures. In the popular referendum, a campaign can be lighter on facts and heavier on emotion. But we have also seen issues important to farming, such as labeling GMO products, go up for a vote in state legislatures. The farm lobby is particularly strong (thank goodness!), but it doesn’t hurt to have fellow farmers (or farmer’s daughters) casting votes in favor of agriculture, proposing bills, and influencing the legislative process.
Again, I don’t know anything about Joni Ernst, aside from her background on an Iowa pork farm and her candidacy for the US Senate. (For all I know, she could turn out to be an organic vegan.) But, thankfully, a farming background is still appreciated as a mark of hard work, passion, and good character (well, at least to most people). As a farming community, we should seriously consider supporting candidates that have a background in agriculture and are willing to represent our ideas in our state and national governments.
Elections matter.
