As Republican Policies Destroy Their Lives, Rural Voters Are The Heart Of The MAGA Movement

In his new book, Feeding A Divided America: Reflections Of A Western Rancher In The Era Of Climate Change, Giles Stockton, among other things, looks at the neoliberal policies that have plagued agriculture since the 1970s, allowing monopolies to take over food production and squeeze out family farmers and ranchers. “The financial crisis of the early 1980s,” he wrote, “weighed heavily on rural America. Farm foreclosures and suicides were constant. Farmers and ranchers tended to blame themselves as failures; they had not worked hard enough, made bad financial decisions and let their families down. By the time the farm crisis of the eighties was over, the era of the independent family farm was also over… [M]any ag economists and politicians continue to repeat the zombie idea that lower crop prices will allow US farmers to increase (or at least maintain) their share of U.S. corn, soybean complex, and wheat markets.” That’s been a colossal bust and a catastrophe for family farms.

Stockton noted that “The 1996 Farm Bill, dubbed the Freedom to Farm Act, (and, by farmers, Freedom to Fail) was lauded as a way to eliminate the need for subsidies. Up until then, subsidies were based on a supply-management system that allocated how many acres of each crop farmers were allowed to plant. The Freedom to Farm Act opted for what they termed flexibility, the assumption being that if farmers were allowed the flexibility to plant the crops they wanted—not just corn, soybeans or wheat— farm subsidies would no longer be needed. Instead of receiving checks directly from the government, farmers were required to buy crop insurance to cover losses due to weather. After all, the thinking went, what could be more market efficient than insurance. The premium for the crop insurance is, however, heavily subsidized by the government and the costs for the taxpayers have gone up steadily. One reason for this increase in farm subsidy costs is that private insurance companies are now able to siphon off a stream of taxpayers’ money for administering the program, money supposedly meant to support rural America.”

In March Barn Raiser published an interview they did with Stockton. He quickly changed the topic of the interview to say that “We’re not going to solve the major issues until we decide to enforce antitrust laws. It was done in 1921 with the Packers and Stockyards Act, which sought to protect farmers and ranchers from monopoly power. And that was very effective for almost 50 years. But then things began to change in the 1980s when the courts narrowed the ability to enforce the Act. Now we’ve got a global cartel controlling the industry. And at the same time, we have a cartel of retailers and grocers. We’re not talking enough about them— thankfully the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons has been blocked for the time being. Ramping up the antitrust efforts by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department is one of the best legacies of the current Biden administration. But the issue is also bipartisan. Interestingly enough, you can still find a lot of consensus on the need for antitrust enforcement by both Republicans and Democrats. But there are still corporatists that control the majority of both parties. Take Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)— you can’t even get her to be a sponsor for country-of-origin labeling, even though she’s the chairwoman of the Senate agriculture committee.”

What else could the Democrats do nationally and in Montana to change the dynamics?

They could have a coherent plan to revitalize rural America and revitalize agriculture.

The Democrats do not have a coherent ag policy. That was very apparent when I testified before the House Ag Committee in April 2022 on livestock issues. The guy to my right was the president of the NCBA [National Cattleman’s Beef Association] who, of course, opposed everything that I had just said. And then when the questioning time came, all of the Republican members of the committee were tossing this guy softballs. I didn’t get one softball. There was a scattering of questions, but there was no pattern to them. I got no help from the Democrats on the committee. The Republicans on the other hand were all primed with talking points. I got a scattering of questions, but there was no pattern to them.

It seemed to me that Democrats are stuck with the idea that they are the only adults in the room able to run the government, but they don’t have a good idea about what they should be doing.

In Feeding a Divided America, I make the case that the industrial model of agriculture will not be able to meet our food needs as the climate gets to be more and more uncertain. The only way to be productive in such difficult climatic conditions is to have diversified farms that are raising a little of everything. When I was a kid, everybody had, wheat and barley and milk cows and chickens and gardens and all of that. Nobody has time for any of that anymore. Around here, it’s just cattle. We have to devolve our agricultural system back to a smaller family farm system. And the way to do that is through the proliferation of markets.

What do you mean?

The market system for all of the major agricultural commodities are controlled by the global corporations. For cattle, it’s three companies: JBS, Tyson and Cargill. For grain, it’s two: Cargill and ADM. The market systems they control are not competitive. They’re proprietary markets run by and for the benefit of the global corporations. We need a proliferation of markets that are local and regional, and we’ve got to enforce antitrust laws. Our current system has ruined rural America and we probably are not going to be able to feed you in the future.

On Sunday, Tim Craig wrote about a related problem for rural America— the exodus of young people. He focused on Sheffield population around 1,100) in Warren County, a remote corner of northwestern Pennsylvania. Warren County has around 38,000 inhabitants, nearly all white and 55.7% registered Republican, 29.1% registered Democrat and 9% independent. Trump won the county both times— with 67% in 2016 and 69% in 2020. All of their state legislators are conservative Republicans, as is their member of Congress, Glenn Thompson. There are no cities, the biggest town being Warren with a population of around 9,700. Sheffield is the 5th biggest town in the county. They lost their bank, bowling alley, pool hall, ambulance, their day care center and liquor store and their high school is closing down soon. Even churches are losing pastors and have been moving to part time schedules. In Warren County, nearly twice as many people died as were born in recent years.

“Across rural Pennsylvania,” Craig wrote, “there is a deepening sense of fear about the future as population loss accelerates. The sharp decline has put the state at the forefront of a national discussion on the viability of the small towns that have long been a pillar of American culture [pillar of American culture? Did the Washington Post fire all their editors?]. America’s rural population began contracting about a decade ago, according to statistics drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau. A whopping 81 percent of rural counties had more deaths than births between 2019 and 2023, according to an analysis by a University of New Hampshire demographer. Experts who study the phenomena say the shrinking baby boomer population and younger residents having smaller families and moving elsewhere for jobs are fueling the trend... Pennsylvania has been particularly afflicted. Job losses in the manufacturing and energy industries that began in the 1980s prompted many younger families to relocate to Sun Belt states. The relocations helped fuel population surges in places like Texas and Georgia. But here, two-thirds of the state’s 67 counties have experienced a drop in population in recent years.” Warren county is predicted to lose over 10% of it’s population by 2050

State lawmakers and other leaders now consider the population loss a crisis and are drawing up plans to try to reverse the trend. They say neither Pennsylvania nor the nation can afford to lose small towns and the institutions that power them. Not only are they a touchstone of American life, but they are also key to driving certain sectors of the economy, like agriculture.

Already, the demographic shift is affecting where students attend school, how long residents have to wait for an ambulance and whether they can quickly see a doctor. In some cases, local governments themselves are on the verge of collapse as they struggle to fill open jobs and leadership positions.

The decline of small-town life is expected to be a looming topic in the presidential election as both President Biden and Trump vie for votes in this critically important battleground state. Trump won many rural voters during his last two presidential campaigns with his populist economic message. Biden, meanwhile, is highlighting his administration’s investments in broadband and major public works projects.

…Today, downtown Sheffield consists primarily of a small grocery store, a 150-year-old bar, one restaurant, two convenience stores, an antique shop and a small video-gambling room.

After most businesses closed or moved elsewhere, today one of the township’s biggest employers, Sheffield Container, employs just 25 people, said Lonny Connolly, the manager of the industrial packing company. The average salary is $18 an hour.

“I don’t know why the industry is not coming in,” Connolly said. “But I do know that is why people are moving out.”

The absence of children has Sheffield leaders on edge as they ponder how to keep the town afloat.

In 1980, Sheffield Area Middle-Senior High School had about 600 students. The current enrollment is just 224. The broader Warren County School District— encompassing most of the county— also saw its school enrollment decline by more than half since 1980.

Statewide, the Pennsylvania Department of Education estimates, there will be 60,000 fewer public school students by the 2027-2028 school year.

In a bid to account for the low enrollment and teacher shortages, the district decided to bus students in ninth through 12th grades to Warren, about a 30-minute drive away, each morning so they could learn core subjects such as a math and science. Students return to Sheffield High School in the afternoon for their electives.

But Warren County School District Superintendent Gary Weber said even more drastic steps may be needed, including possibly shuttering Sheffield’s high school altogether.

“There is no sign of growth in the future.” he said.

But to Sheffield residents, the idea that their community might soon be without a high school is alarming. If the school closes, they say, even more families could move out and the town’s problems will grow more entrenched.

Today there are 32 students in Sheffield Township’s graduating class.

…Throughout Sheffield and the rest of rural Pennsylvania, the aging population has led to a crisis at one of the most fundamental small-town institutions: the local volunteer fire station.

The nation’s volunteer fire services rely on residents who leave work or home to respond to community emergencies. They have been a mainstay of life in small towns for centuries, putting out fires and transporting residents to the hospital, while also hosting bingo games, fish fries and potluck dinners.

But as the population ages and decreases, fewer people are signing up to serve as volunteers. Jerry Ozog, executive director of the Pennsylvania Fire & Emergency Services Institute, said the state had an estimated 300,000 volunteer firefighters during the 1970s. A state-commissioned study released in 2018 estimated Pennsylvania was down to 38,000 volunteer firefighters, and Ozog believes the number may have decreased further since then.

At many volunteer fire stations in Pennsylvania today, Ozog said, “it’s all gray hair and nobody under the age of 55.”

That has made it harder for fire stations to respond to emergency calls. Growing numbers of departments have also shelved their ambulance service, unable to find enough qualified volunteers who are willing to become a licensed EMT or paramedic. In some pockets of Pennsylvania, the nearest ambulance is now 40 minutes away, Ozog said.

Sheffield Township lost its ambulance in 2022.

…As the population ages and declines, Sheffield Township has struggled to operate its government and maintain activities that the community can be proud of.

…Sheffield suffered another blow this year when several high-ranking township employees quit— including two of three supervisors. The township appointed one person but couldn’t find anyone to fill the second vacancy. It then took the unusual step of putting an ad in the local paper to find someone to keep the local government running.

As the presidential election approaches, many residents in this deeply Republican town say they view Trump as having a better vision for salvaging rural America, even though Biden has steered billions of dollars to initiatives that support rural America.

But at the Lee House, one of two remaining bars in Sheffield Township, many patrons were not optimistic that either Trump or Biden has the answers needed to save the community. The bar, which dates back 150 years and advertises on its front door that smoking is still allowed indoors, now routinely closes at 9 p.m. due to “fewer and fewer people,” said Carla Allen, the bar’s owner.

“I don’t want either of them for president,” said Barb Strike, 54, as she puffed on a Parliament cigarette and sipped a Bud Light. “They don’t care about us because no one in this town is rich enough for them to care.”

You may be wondering why rural Americans continue to support the GOP— let alone a profane NYC con-man— despite policies that undermine their livelihoods, right? First off there’s virtually no competent Democratic Party outreach— especially in key states like Ohio, Florida, Texas where the Democratic parties are moribund outside of the big cities. In the last couple of decades, Democrats have absolutely failed to present a coherent, compelling vision for rural America. As Stockton pointed out, Democrats lack a unified agricultural policy and have not consistently fought for antitrust enforcement, which is crucial for protecting small farmers from monopolistic agribusinesses. When rural voters see Democrats failing to stand up for their interests, they gravitate towards Republicans who, at the very least, provide a clear (albeit completely misguided) narrative.

The economic downturn has been more severe— and the recovery less robust, with the decline of manufacturing, mining and agriculture due to neoliberal policies. Despite this, the GOP has successfully channeled the resulting frustration and despair. They— along with their media allies— have effectively blamed these economic woes on immigrants, trade deals, and progressive policies, while positioning themselves as champions of deregulation and free market solutions, which they claim will revitalize these sectors. The promise of tax cuts, deregulation and a pro-business stance seems to appeal to rural entrepreneurs and small business owners. This are the only people still suckered into the GOP trickle-down nonsense. And, let’s not forget that decades of conservative rhetoric— going all the way back to the late 1800s— have fostered a profound distrust of government and institutions among small town voters. Ironically, they’re skeptical of federal programs and perceive them as inefficient or biased towards urban populations. The GOP leverages this distrust, advocating for smaller government and local control, which appeals to rural sensibilities.

Although OH-12 now includes some suburbs north and east of Columbus, it is basically a sprawling rural district, filled with the kinds of small towns that progressive congressional candidate Jerrad Christian was raised in. “Ohio has always been a state deeply rooted in agriculture,” he told us today. “Its soil and climate have made it perfect for farming since the early days. But, farming in Ohio has faced some tough challenges. Big corporations have taken over most food production, pushing out family farms. The rise of factory-style, monoculture farming is becoming more and more unsustainable, especially with climate change making weather patterns unpredictable. To turn things around, we need to reinvent the modern farmer into what we’ve always admired in our romanticized versions of them: resilient, self-reliant caretaker of the land, capable of adapting to changing conditions and thriving. This means giving farmers the tools and knowledge to handle a variety of crops and livestock, promoting local and regional markets to lessen reliance on big corporations, and ensuring they have the right to repair their own equipment. By supporting diverse farming practices and advocating for policies that protect family farms, we can build a more sustainable and prosperous agricultural system that honors the true spirit of farming in Ohio and beyond. By selling local products, we can assure competitive pricing and affordable food. Modern farming equipment has become so complex and often tied to proprietary technology, making it hard or impossible for farmers to do their own repairs. This reliance on manufacturers not only raises costs but also leads to significant downtime during critical planting and harvesting seasons. Farmers should have access to the tools and information they need to fix their own equipment, reducing costs and boosting efficiency. The right to repair is crucial for the sustainability and independence of our family run agricultural sector.”

Eric Wilson is the progressive Democrat challenging MAGA freshman Derrick Van Orden in a western and central Wisconsin swing district that is a politically challenging mix of urban, suburban and rural areas (56.8%). While most Democrats concentrate their efforts entirely in Eau Claire, La Crosse and Stevens Point (Portage County). Last cycle conservative Democrat Brad Pfaff lost to Van Orden, losing every single one of the 16 rural counties, while winning in Eau Claire, La Crosse and Portage. Better Democrats, like Wilson, can certainly win Chippewa, Vernon, Richland and Crawford—by showing up, listening and addressing their issues. Obama overwhelmingly won Vernon, Richland and Crawford.

This morning, Wilson told me that “We as a country have failed our farmers and we need to acknowledge it. We've left rural areas behind and have stopped putting an effort into them. Democrats cannot be the anti-Republican Party. We have to be a party ABOUT something. We need a positive message with a vision that will help rebuild rural America and give them the tools to be successful. Medicare for All, Broadband/cell service, Climate, Hemp/marijuana legalized, all of these issues Dems are strong on and can win rural voters with. We need to protect them from big corporate conglomerates continuing to push them out of the market and make sure as climate change is occurring they're actually protected and the insurance claims aren't just going to the top. I will not forget my roots and will fight for everyone in my district. It's the only way we can move forward together.”

Please consider contributing to Jerrad Christian's and Eric Wilson’s campaigns here on the Flip Congress page. Replacing Climate Change deniers and anti-Choice sociopaths Troy Balderson and Derrick Van Orden will be a boon to farmers in Ohio and Wisconsin... and everyone else on planet earth.

Introducing his rural plan in 2019, Bernie, a beloved senator from a largely rural state, wrote that “We need to address corporate consolidation and control of our food and agriculture system— all the way up the food chain from seed companies; fruit, vegetable, and grain growers; food processors; food distributors; and grocery chains. When markets become too concentrated, they begin to act more like monopolies than free markets.” This is, in bullet point simplicity, what he proposes:

• Enact and enforce Roosevelt-style trust-busting laws to stop monopolization of markets and break-up existing massive agribusinesses; Place a moratorium on future mergers of large agribusiness corporations and break-up existing massive agribusinesses.

• Place a moratorium on vertical integration of large agribusiness corporations.

• Reestablish and strengthen the Grain Inspectors, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), the agency that oversees antitrust in the packing industry.

• Ensure farmers have the Right to Repair their own equipment.

• Reform patent law to protect farmers from predatory patent lawsuits from seed corporations.

• Change regulations to improve markets for family farms-- Strengthen organic standards so behemoth agribusinesses cannot circumvent rules and cut out small producers who make investments in their communities and environment. We must begin by reversing the erosion of standards in recent years.

• Allow meat slaughtered at a state-inspected facility to be sold across state lines.

• Classify food supply security as a national security issue.

• Develop fair trade partnerships that do not drive down the prices paid to food producers and that, instead, protect farmers here and abroad.

• Enforce country-of-origin-labeling so companies cannot import foreign meat for slaughter, passing it off as American grown to undercut domestic producers.

• Enact supply management programs to prevent shortages and surpluses to ensure farmers make a living wage and ensure consumers receive a high-quality, stable, and secure supply of agricultural goods.

• Re-establish a national grain and feed reserve to help alleviate the need for government subsidies and ensure we have a food supply in case of extreme weather events.

• Reform agricultural subsidies so that more federal support goes to small- and mid-sized family farms, rather than that support going disproportionately to a handful of the largest producers.

• Transition toward a parity system to guarantee farmers a living wage. That means setting price floors and matching supply with demand so farmers are guaranteed the cost of production and family living expenses.

• Pass comprehensive disaster coverage and allocate payments to independent family farming operations.

• Provide relief to help prevent independent family farm bankruptcies, which in areas like the Midwest are at their highest level in a decade.

• Help beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers get fair access to land and resources.

• Strengthen oversight of foreign acquisitions of American farmland in order to prevent that farmland from being controlled by foreign governments and foreign corporations.

• Invest in beginning farmers to purchase land and equipment for sustainable farming.

• Allocate government funding to purchase easements to ensure land stays in agriculture.

• Incentivize community ownership of farmland to allow more people to work the land and produce food for local consumers.

• Make government owned farmland available as incubator farms for beginning farmers.

• Incentivize programs-- including 4H, extension programs, or others-- to ensure diversity of age, race, gender, ability, and sexual orientation so we begin to eradicate systems and cultures that prevent fair access to agricultural land and opportunities.

• Fund development of local, independent processing, aggregation, and distribution facilities.

• Incentivize rural cooperative business models and utilities, such as rural electric cooperatives, food co-ops, and credit unions.

• Pass comprehensive legislation to address climate change that includes a transition to regenerative, independent family farming practices.

• Help farms of all sizes transition to sustainable agricultural practices that rebuild rural communities, protect the climate, and strengthen the environment.

• Provide grants, technical assistance, and debt relief to farmers to support their transition to more sustainable farming practices.

• Support a transition to more sustainable management of livestock systems that are ecologically sound, improve soil health, and sequester carbon in soil.

• Create financial mechanisms that compensate farmers for improving ecosystems.

• Establish a program to permanently set aside ecologically fragile farm and ranch land.

• Enforce the Clean Air and Water Acts for large, factory farms, and ensure all farmers have access to tools and resources to help them address pollution.

• Ensure rural residents have the right to protect their families and properties from chemical and biological pollution, including pesticide and herbicide drift.

• Enact a universal childcare program for every child in America that provides rural Americans access to local daycares.

• Increase funding for rural public education including ESL programs, classes for students with disabilities, student transportation, college accredited classes, etc.

• Pay rural teachers a living wage, health benefits and strengthen rural union bargaining power.

• Stop consolidating rural schools and start building rural schools that can access and utilize distance learning opportunities.

• Provide free higher education, job training, apprenticeship programs and other professional development programs that cover low-income and rural areas.

• Substantially end the burden of the outrageous levels of student debt in this country.

• Provide funding to rebuild and expand rural health care infrastructure, including hospitals, maternity wards, mental health clinics, dental clinics, dialysis centers, home care services, ambulance services, and emergency departments in rural areas.

• Expand access to public addiction recovery services in rural areas.

• Lower the cost of prescription drugs and make prescription drugs more accessible to people in rural areas.

• Promote local foods to encourage healthy lifestyle and wellness, including incentives for schools to source their meals from local farmers.

• Enact policies that allow immigrant workers who already live here to stay in this country.  That means long term visas and a pathway to citizenship.

• Protect farmworkers from Trump’s deportation machine.

• Enforce fair and just labor laws-- including the right to organize and overtime protections-- to end wage theft, harassment and discrimination and mass immigration raids.

• Ensure farmworkers regardless of immigration status can safely report workplace and human rights violations and abuses.

• Ensure access to high-speed broadband internet to every American.

• Raise the minimum wage to at least $15/hour.

• Start investing in small businesses in rural areas and stop handing out tax breaks to big corporations.

• Remove Right to Work, pass fair labor laws, and make it easier to form a union, including agricultural and food system workers.

• Enact a federal job guarantee that will create good-paying jobs and much needed rural infrastructure.

• Invest in affordable rural housing housing and end housing discrimination that segregates rural communities by race and income.

• Focus substantial federal resources on distressed rural communities that have high levels of poverty.

• Provide support  for rural community banks, CDFIs and credit unions, not Wall Street.