Who wants a bureaucrat in Washington, D.C. to dictate to them how they should conduct their affairs? The federal government is taking control of agricultural lands throughout the nation on the basis that they are associated with navigable waterways which has led to a $2.8 million dollar fine being imposed on a farmer for plowing his field. The government also is taking control of the land through vertical integration by the mega multinational corporation that controls everything from what is produced all the way through to the sale of the product to foreign nations which eventually results in all of the profits going to the elite and the people being reduced to a state of slavery. A free people should be able to make decisions as to how to responsibly conduct his/her operations, and their decision-making should be based on private enterprise, rather than being dictated by the government.

The family farming operation, rather than corporate farming, is the best form of agriculture because family farmers care for the land, water, and livestock. It also supports rural communities. It promotes entire way of life that is worth living. When selling commodities, corporate farming drives down the prices so low that family farms can’t earn a decent income. The highest priority of corporations that are not owned by family farmers is profit, which overrides all other concerns. The corporate form is the root cause of the decline of rural communities. I used to work for a multi-national agriculture corporation. I know from experience that these corporations when selling inputs set their prices at the maximum the market will bear and they make obscene profits on their products. The Sherman Antitrust Act needs to be enforced against them to break them up so there will be more competition, and therefore lower costs for farm inputs and higher prices for your products. That will be my primary focus if elected.

Incumbents, who support a big, all-encompassing government, have presided over the continuing decay of rural communities through the promotion of mega-corporation-friendly farm bills. I recommend diminishing mega, non-family, low-employment corporations which, if successful, will tend to rejuvenate rural communities through more farms and increased populations, and therefore goods and services, in rural communities.

In effect, the United States Taxpayer pays subsidies to EU farmers because we pay for the defense of Europe by having military bases in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and throughout Europe, and we pay the lion’s share of the expenses for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (many hundreds of billions of dollars just for NATO!). Because we pay for Europe’s defense, the EU has money to pay these massive subsidies. If the United States gets out of Europe and NATO, then the EU will have to pay for its own defense and won’t have money to subsidize its farmers. The United States Taxpayer not only subsidizes European farmers, but also is required to subsidize American farmers to enable them to compete with EU subsidized products.

The United States and Europe are the primary reserve producers of most agricultural products. Europeans should be left to pay for their own defense, and therefore they will be unable to provide massive subsidies to their farmers. The United States sends our tax dollars to every nation on the face of the earth–including China and Russia. That has to come to an end.

The American farmer is the original entrepreneur in this country. All he/she wants is a level playing field. Defunding NATO will be a large step in that direction. Its purpose came to an end a long time ago.

We need a “land grant act” that would transfer all undeveloped land in control of the federal government to the citizens of this country first and what is left over to the States. Individuals and families are the best stewards of the land–not bureaucrats! If I am elected I will strike a blow against the corporate form which will have the effect of repopulating and rejuvenating rural areas.

I support modification or removal of federal laws that prevent farmers and other persons from protecting themselves and their property from wolves and other animals that are a threat to them or their property. After 30 years in Congress, Collin Peterson still hasn’t done anything to help ranchers. He just says, “I think we should trust the farmer more and base the decision [for remuneration from the government for the loss of livestock to predation from wolves] on whether to offset farmers’ losses on their word and the evidence at hand.” Well that isn’t helping the rancher much is it? We should expect more–a lot more.

Currently, there is a shortage of labor for the livestock industry and other labor intensive categories of industry. Nearly 75 percent of the workers in those industries are foreigners. We wouldn’t have a shortage in labor if we hadn’t killed 60 million babies through abortion, along with all of their children and grandchildren. We have an immigration problem because of the barbaric practice of abortion!