Iowa stage brings ag issues to politics

But the question remains about just what influence agriculture has in the presidential campaign or in the wider world of politics and government.

“It continues to be a struggle (to get candidates to talk about agriculture),” says Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey.

Still, agriculture has some advantages in this process, according to Chandler Goule, senior vice president of programs at the National Farmers Union.

One is that the first-in-the-nation caucuses are in Iowa, an agricultural state.

Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, says the role of his and other farm groups is two-fold in the election process. First, they want to hear what the candidates have to say about agriculture and rural issues. Second, they want to educate the candidates about what issues really concern farmers.

For the Iowa Corn Growers Association, that means talking to the candidates about items such as the Renewable Fuels Standard or other biofuels-related issues, according to ICGA President Bob Hemesath.

“We have a unique opportunity in Iowa,” he says.

Farmers in Missouri and Illinois don’t necessarily have that same opportunity when it comes to presidential politics, though the issues that interest them are often similar to the ones that interest Iowa farmers.

In Iowa, the candidates have already been criss-crossing the state talking to voters.

“I’m really pleased,” says Gov. Terry Branstad. “I hope they come early and often.”

Nine of the 17 Republican presidential candidates came to Iowa early to talk about agriculture during an Iowa Ag Summit held in early March at the state fairgrounds. That event, hosted by noted Iowa Republican Bruce Rastetter, allowed the candidates to answer questions about ethanol and other related issues. While the Democratic candidates were invited, none showed.

The number of presidential candidates has certainly effected the dynamic of the campaign thus far, according to Drake University political scientist Dennis Goldford. With 17 Republicans and five Democrats announced and campaigning, it is difficult to get media attention.

“Everybody is looking for media oxygen,” he says.

That is one of the items which helped Donald Trump to race to the front of the Republican field in most polls. Trump says outrageous things and gets attention. Whether what he says is true is almost beside the point, Goldford says.

“Donald Trump represents the middle-finger sector of the American electorate,” Goldford says, explaining that many of his supporters have had it with politicians and see him as different.

If there were three or four candidates, Trump might not be getting the same level of support because of his high negative ratings. And it is still unknown whether his supporters will leave him when they actually have to make a decision about who would make a good president.

On the Democratic side, the dynamic is different.

“Democrats bet the farm on Hillary and they are likely in big trouble if Hillary implodes,” Goldford says.

The trouble is that while Hillary Clinton is undeniably smart and experienced, she is not a natural politician like her husband, he said.

There is another reason 2016 may be different than most past election years in Iowa, Goldford says.

In the past, Iowa and New Hampshire did not necessarily pick the winners but they did winnow the field. A candidate who did poorly in both states would begin to have trouble raising enough money to continue campaigning.

But, the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United allowed a huge increase in the power of super-PACs and individual donors. Now, a candidate with a sugar-daddy donor could keep a campaign going even without broad political support.

Still, none of those trends changes the idea that farmers and rural residents have an opportunity in Iowa to both listen to candidates and to try to get candidates to listen to them.

And that can give agriculture a chance to influence government policy.