American Farmers and their power in politics. ( Archived) (8)

When I was a young man the US went into a trade war against Europe and began to subsidise wheat. Effectively the US could sell wheat at a loss and farmers could still make a profit.

There was a downside though. In my own country, which had not been apart of the European actions that led to the US response, wheat exports were hammered and farmers felt the impact of reduced sales to exporters and had to be willing to sell for less to undercut other farmers. Essentially the decision makers in Washington considered the damage to the Australian economy to be friendly fire and an acceptable casualty of war.

This affected the country so much that the day came where the US Ambassador was informed that the nation had no choice but to join a growing trade war between the merchant princes of Europe and the corporate trade barons of the United States.

About this time George Bush Senior came to Australia. One of the major points of discussion was to be Australia's decision to join the trade war. Given that Australia had massive ties through Asia it was likely that the involvement of Australia would lead to related economies in India, Indonesia, China and Japan also joining. Bush and his flunkies did not want Australia to be the small teaspoon of water that sank the Asia-ship.

Now an interesting thing happened at that time. The Capital city of Canberra has a large roundabout surrounding capital hill, and farmers from across Australia came to the city in tractors to protest against the trade war. They just wanted to survive. Suddenly a bunch of farmers on tractors covered with billboards tied on by bailing twine had media attention across the United States, particularly in the farming belts.

The Australian farmers themselves didn’t even know which party Bush was from or what he stood for. They just wanted a fair go. Now what is really interesting is the response from the average farmer in the United States.

Trade is the same the world over. The farmers get screwed and the middle men in suits make as much for themselves as they can without putting in a tenth the effort. This is something that farmers have pointed out across the globe. It went one step further in the US though. What the government did not expect was that US farmers would come out in support of the Australian farmers.

I clearly remember the anti-trade war protests by American farmers demanding that things change. As someone who has grown up in the countryside I know that one year a farmer may make money, the next break even and the next take a loss. In many cases the good years can cover the repair of machinery and offset the bad years. Sometimes they do not. It is hard work to be a farmer.

American farmers knew something that the average ‘suit’ in the trade palaces of Washington and London did not. They knew that at heart a farmer is a farmer regardless of nationality. They knew how hard it would be for them if the same course of action was applied to them. They felt empathy toward the Australian farmers and knew the trade war was unjust and would sooner or later be hurting them as well, while the suits continued to drive around in their rich sports cars and limousines the world over. It was unjust. They knew it, and they responded by protesting in their droves.

It is unclear exactly how much impact the farmers had on decision making. What is known is that they created a massive amount of bad publicity for that administration and were at the heart of the anti-trade war movement in the United States.

People underestimate farmers and their role in politics. Here we have a party called the National Party. It was once called the Country Party, and its main supporter areas are in the country still today. It works in coalition with the other major right wing party in this nation, though it has its own agenda as well.

I wonder how long the suits would take farmers for granted if the farmers simply stopped supplying the food.

to some extent it is happening your sheep flock used to well over 100 million , its down to 70 odd now . New Zealands sheep flock used to 70 million its now around 20 million . South American flocks have all dropped as well . Stopping supply is happening , not by choice , I have ten farms next to me . I have been here 16 years in that time there have been 7 fail and change hands with a further 3 farms change hands because of other reasons . One farm has had most of the people go broke on (5) . These farms are all good sized units for NZ not lifestyle blocks at all . The industry has not paid income tax since the 70's . Our capital stock (our cows and ewes , the stock we keep from year to year ) go up in value ,we are taxed depending on what value system you have your stock in . Now that stock are in short supply all over the world we are starting to be payed an income again .Debt is what makes farmers overproduce , farmers cannot just stop . Farmers Strike , was talked about in the 80's , the banks will take peoples farms off them . Thats their homes , their hopes , every thing they stand for is in that land . Those who run the markets know this and hang us with our own rope .

True - It certainly was not a suggestion, however that would not change that fact that it would hurt them a lot. As I said, it is not a suggestion, just making the point that people in government offices take the people on the land for granted all around the world and do not realise that they depend on them.