Thread: South Carolina farmers share concerns about NAFTA, immigration with Agriculture Secre

South Carolina farmers share concerns about NAFTA, immigration with Agriculture Secretary Perdue



January 27, 2018

Jamid Lovegrove


HOPKINS — From big picture worries about immigration and federal budget cuts to granular concerns about the intricacies of cotton pricing, South Carolina farmers bent the ear of the nation's top agriculture official Saturday, just as negotiations over the the next farm bill approach a critical period.


U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue held town hall-style meetings with a few dozen farmers and producers after touring City Roots urban farm in Columbia and Manchester Farms quail processing facility in Hopkins with South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers.



The South Carolina trip came just days after Perdue unveiled the his top priorities for the next farm bill. The current $900 billion version of the sweeping legislation, which includes food stamps along with many farming subsidies and regulations, is set to expire in September.

One consistent concern from farmers was President Donald Trump's threats to end the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Perdue sought to assuage those fears, telling the farmers he's increasingly optimistic.



During Trump's campaign, Perdue said, the candidate got the impression NAFTA is universally reviled. When he got into office, Perdue said he showed the president a map highlighting all of the pro-Trump areas around the country that support the 24-year-old trade agreement.



"As forceful and as determined and as directive as he can be sometimes, he’s got the essence of a good leader: He listens,” said Perdue, a former Georgia governor. “There’s a little backdoor and, if you get in, you can change his mind about some things, and to his credit he acknowledges those sorts of things."



Several farmers also raised concerns about the future of immigration policy, currently under the spotlight in Washington, telling Perdue about the vital role Latin American migrant workers played in the state's agricultural workforce.



"Let them come in documented so we don't have to hide them out on the farms," one attendee suggested.



Perdue responded that he hears about the labor issue all over the country and has made sure Trump and Stephen Miller, one of the president's top advisers on immigration, are cognizant of the impact on agriculture.



Though less critical for farmers, perhaps the most contentious issue in the farm bill negotiations will be food stamps, which make up by far the largest share of the five-year legislation.

With a strong economy and Trump's desire to cut the federal budget, Perdue argued now is the time to make the food stamp program more efficient.

"We want to be compassionate and generous to those people truly in need, people who’ve lost their jobs, people who by health emergency need a temporary hand-up and handout," Perdue said. "But for the able-bodied adults without dependents who can work, we think the best social program we can devise is a job."



At Manchester Farms, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster joined Perdue and Weathers for lunch and told the farmers that South Carolina is primed for an agriculture surge.


"If we use our heads and have some vision, I think that our industry, agribusinesss, is just in its infancy," McMaster said.

Perdue's tour of the Midlands marked the second visit to South Carolina from a high-ranking Trump administration official in as many days. On Friday, Ivanka Trump touted the tax reform bill that passed through Congress in a Greenville event with U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-North Charleston.



Weathers said he invited Perdue to South Carolina to hear the same concerns he often receives from farmers as he travels around the state.


"But they were nicer to him," Weathers quipped.



https://www.postandcourier.com/polit...002272c78.html