Loebsack comes to Washington, talks shutdown and trade war with farmers

During Congressman Dave Loebsack's visit to Washington, area farmer Jeff Cuddeback asked his peers how many of them had felt affected by the shutdown and would demand reopening.

Of the four other farmers present, nobody raised their hand.

Loebsack's meeting with the Washington County Farm Bureau on Friday, Jan. 18, was part of his 'Investing in Rural Iowa” Tour which consisted of stops in Albia and Fairfield's Farm Bureaus earlier in the day before concluding in Washington.

The series of roundtable meetings was done ostensibly for the Congressman to discuss the recently passed Farm Bill with Iowa farmers and to see how it has affected them. Specific topics included the Precision Agriculture Act, which aims to increase broadband coverage for farmers to 95 percent of agricultural land by 2025 and the Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act to increase the quality and effectiveness of rural emergency medical care.

However, the main talking points in Washington largely revolved around the ongoing government shutdown and the country's escalating trade war with China, which began last year.

'My view is that the president went about it the wrong way from the outset,” Loebsack said, wishing that matters had first been taken to the World Trade Organization, before tariffs were put on the table.

The effect these mounting tariffs have had on soybean prices has proved to be a problem for those farming the crop. According to Jerry Anderson, regional manager for the Washington County Farm Bureau, the value of soybeans for area farmers went down about $1.10 per bushel last year; by his estimate the average soy farmer might have 50 bushels per acre.

Tye Rinner, the president of the Washington Farm Bureau, estimates soybeans have been able to regain roughly half of that $1.10, but farmers are still uncertain. Though primarily a turkey farmer, Rinner still grows soybeans.

Late last year, President Donald Trump created a $12 billion bail-out to help struggling farmers. This move from the government left Rinner and Anderson less than thrilled.

'I've got a grain-bin full of soy beans so when do I sell them? ‘Cause we're trying to get the best price possible and the market's in the tank,” Rinner said. '(The bailout) is just a temporary Band-Aid which isn't going to help us in the long run. If we could just get a good trade deal that would help us more than anything. Nobody wants to take government aid.”

Rinner has personally not yet been affected by the shutdown. He and the four other farmers present have been feeling more heat from a lack of trade with China, which has been getting its soybeans primarily from Brazil rather than the U.S. during this period.

Beyond his criticism of Trump's initial approach to dealing with China, Congressman Loebsack feels the cultural mindset of the Chinese leaders may lead them to be less concerned with the next couple of decades economically and more concerned with the next century. This mixed with offenses taken from the trade war, Congressman Loebsack feels, will make it hard to negotiate going forward.

But before real progress can be made with China, deals in the US need to be made.

Though Loebsack feels the government should be able to 'walk and chew gum at the same time” he laments that little progress is likely to be made during the shutdown and that, the longer the trade war goes, the more everyone will start to feel the strain.

Cuddeback asked the Congressman why a deal hadn't been made. An easier path to citizenship for immigrants in the country with high border security seemed a fair comprimise to Cuddeback.

The Congressman had similar feelings, saying there are many including himself in Washington who would be willing to make a deal to strengthen the border without cracking down too harshly on immigrants who have been 'good community workers.” However, he cited a failure in operation from the leadership of both parties.

'It's a matter of both sides standing down and stopping the demagoguing of the issue,” Loebsack said.

Once the shutdown is resolved, Loebsack's No. 1 concern is working on infrastructure. He wants more work done for bridges, locks and dams, but especially wants to see progress made in expanding broadband connections in rural areas.

'Farmers need (broadband) obviously for planning (and) for communicating even to the markets in real time,” Loebsack said. 'You talk to any of the farmers and you find there's frustration when they can't connect.”

'Anytime we can get broadband in rural areas, that will help farmers as well,” Loebsack said. 'That's part of the reason why I'm so focused on it. It's important for students to be able to finish their homework when they go home. It's important for rural health, being able to access health care outside your community, that's very important. It's important; just generally speaking for economic development, companies just will not go to rural areas without sufficient bandwidth, so that's really important.”

Following the meeting, Rinner felt that, even if the farmers and the Congressman didn't agree on everything, Loebsack was receptive to their concerns.

'He listens to us, he goes back to D.C., he does what he can,” Rinner said. 'He doesn't have a farm background (but) we've done a darn good job trying to educate him.”