Clinton and Trump Camps on Ag - Watch the entire Farm Forum Discussion
Last week, while Secretary
Hillary Clinton and Mr. Donald Trump were preparing for their final debate of the Presidential campaign,
representatives of both campaigns met in Washington DC to discuss how each candidate's presidency
might impact
agriculture.
The Farmer's Forum was cohosted by Farm Foundation and Farm Journal Media, and included Sam Clovis, co-chair and policy advisor on the Trump campaign and Kathleen Merrigan, former deputy secretary of agriculture at the USDA.
Clovis began the discussion
and
says a
Trump administration would include
farmers.
"When we win, we're going to sit down and make sure farmers and ranchers have a place
at
the table. we want to make sure that they understand we're not going to go out and cripple our industry simply because we've had a change of administration," Clovis said.
He discussed immigration, water regulations and federal land use, among other topics.
Merrigan took a broad view of how the Clinton
campaign
would
approach agricultural issues, focusing on topics
like
sustainable energy, women in agriculture
and Senator Clinton's
record on the
Farm Bill.
"In a world of low commodity prices and a global population projected to be more than nine billion very soon, we can't afford to ignore any tools in our tool box." Merrigan says it'll take all kinds of operations to sustain American agriculture.
"Organic, biotech, small farms, big businesses, local, global. They're all going to play a role. We need policies that reward innovation, protect health and the environment and build consumer confidence."
The entire two hour discussion is available below.
