Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 14886 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2016 IF VOTING IN THE Plains States and the agricul- tural Midwest are any indication, then agriculture should be pleased by President-elect Donald Trump’s surprising win. While Trump is a big city real estate mogul, not a farmer, he is comfortable surrounding himself with people who understand agriculture. Prime example is Vice President-elect Mike Pence. The Indiana Governor and former congressman avidly supports technological innovation in production agriculture. Trump’s selection of Reince Priebus, with strong roots in Wisconsin, as his chief of staff bodes well, as does the list of potential agriculture secretary candidates being mentioned. The impressive list is said to include Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and former Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman. Farmers Mike McCloskey and Kip Tom have also been mentioned, along with National Council of Farmer Cooperatives CEO Chuck Connor, Indiana Farm Bureau President Don Villwock and Pence’s agri- culture chief, Ted McKinney. Trump has noted: “Family farms are the backbone of this country [and] Grow[th] — that begins with sup- porting our family farms.” Toward this end he has proposed positive farm policy initiatives, including tax cuts that protect family farms and ranches. Farming is a business that will ben- efit from Trump’s proposal to cut corporate taxes and limit government regulation. His proposed repeal of the estate tax will be particularly welcome because of its burden on the family farm. Similarly, Trump’s support of energy independence should benefit the agricul- tural community. Trump has also noted his support for the Renewable Fuel Standard and corn-based etha- nol. When it comes to biotech, he told the Iowa Farm Bureau that he supports GMOs and opposes manda- tory labeling of biotech ingredients. Growers and ranchers around the country have been complaining for years about Washington red tape. The incoming administration has heard the mes- sage loud and clear. “Regulations have grown into a massive job-killing industry,” Trump said on the campaign trail. “The regulation industry is one business I will absolutely put an end to on day one.” All indications are the President-elect will revoke at least some of the current administration’s most trou- blesome executive orders. High on farmers’ agenda is Executive Order 13508, the Chesapeake Bay order the Environmental Protection Agency has been using to take over local land use decisions from farmers. Trump has also called the Waters of the U.S. rule “a disaster.” He has said he will not back down and is willing to do what it takes to end “the war on the American farmer.” Trade Support While Trump is a vocal critic of free trade agreements, he told the Iowa Farm Bureau that he supports the aggressive expansion of markets for U.S. agricultural products through trade promotion authority. Trump has singled out American agriculture manu- facturers like John Deere as an important source of jobs that “need to be able to export without being taxed to death.” So across the board, preliminary indications are that farmers and ranchers and those involved in supporting agriculture, will have a new President that intends to do the right things to get America growing again. SW “Farming is a business that will benefit from Trump’s proposal to cut corporate taxes and limit government regulation.” — Dean McGrath The Election and American Agriculture DEAN MCGRATH is an attorney-at-law and founder of the Washington, D.C., firm McGrath & Associates. An adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Law Center and political insider, he repre- sents clients before Congress, federal and state courts and administrative agen- cies in connection with legislative, regu- latory and litigation matters. Previously, he’s served as deputy chief of staff to Vice President Cheney and was a member of President George W. Bush’s Management Council.