Americans retain positive views of farmers, ranchers
ByDaveKranz Markets, weather, demanding custom- ers, and a seemingly endless stream of new regulations: Farmers and ranchers
ticesor their crops. That’sone reasonFarm Bureau policy advocates do thework they do—to make sure the positive attributes of farming and ranching remain in front of decision-makers. In the public-opinion sphere, main- taining a positive image can’t be taken for granted. In times of crisis, such as the pandem- ic or a drought, people want to know that farmersandranchers careabout their cus- tomers and their employees. Theywant to knowfarmers andranchers careabout the animals and crops they tend, and about the water, soil and air they depend on to raise those animals and crops. Having worked with farmers and ranchers for a long time, I believe all those things to be true, and that farmers and ranchers serve themselves best in the public eyewhen they show that they care about others’ needs asmuch as they care about their own. When things go badly—as they have at times during the pandemic or as they may during the coming dry summer— peoplewill want toknowthat farmers and ranchers are doing the best they can in a difficult situation. They will want to know that farmers and ranchers work constant- ly to improve the way they produce crops and commodities, and that theywill learn lessons from the current crises that will ultimately benefit their customers, their employees and the environment. By focusing on those points, farm- ers and ranchers can reinforce their al- ready-strong image among the American public. As difficult as it may be to believe at times, remember: Americans respect and trust farmers and ranchers, andwant them to succeed. (DaveKranz is editor of AgAlert.Hemay be contacted at dkranz@cfbf.com.)
cansometimes feel under siege from all sides. But pub- lic-opinion polling shows one consis- tent ray of light. Americans hold farmersandranch- ers in high esteem, and trust them. Farming and ag-
Dave Kranz
riculture has consistently been one of the top-ranked economic sectors in annual Galluppolls thatmeasure the imagesof 25 U.S. businessesandindustries.And, for the first time, farming and agriculture ranked No. 1 among American economic sectors inGallup’smost recent survey, conducted last year. More than two-thirds of survey respon- dents—69%—expressed positive opin- ions about farming and only 11% were negative; the rest described themselves as neutral. The positive views of agricul- ture rose 11 percentage points from the previous year’s poll, Gallup said, noting the increasedpositive rating came “about evenly across U.S. subgroups.” Alongwith farming, twoother sectors— health care and pharmaceuticals—be- camemorepositively rated in2020, which Gallup attributed to their roles in “deliver- ing vital goods and services to Americans during the pandemic.” But there’s a key difference: Neither the health care nor pharmaceutical industries are very high- ly rated overall. Health care ranks in the middle of the pack, and pharmaceuticals leapfrogged the federal government to rank next to last in the annual survey.
By large margins, Americans express respect and trust in farmers and ranchers. One recent survey placed farming and agriculture No. 1 among the nation’s economic sectors.
Later in the year, the American Farm Bureau contracted with the polling firm Morning Consult tomeasure Americans’ attitudesabout farmingandsustainability. Whenaskedhowmuch they trust farm- ers, more than half the respondents in the MorningConsult survey said, “a lot.” Inall, 88% of the survey participants expressed trust in farmers. More than half ranked farmers’ sustainability practices as either excellent (17%) or good (41%). That’s important information tokeep in mindasweenterwhat figures tobeanoth- er long, hot summer in California. As we sawin themost recent drought of 2012-16, people are going tobegin criticizing farm- ers for theirwater use andcropchoices. In fact, it has already started. It’seasy,maybeevennatural, tobecome defensive when presented with some of these arguments and accusations—es-
pecially when they come from well-fi- nanced advocacy organizations who have frequently used the editorial boards of Californianewspapers asmegaphones. But here’s the thing to remember, as the public-opinion surveys remind us: Most Americans, and most Californians, have a positive opinion of farming and ranching, and those positive opinions mayhave evenbeenenhancedby theway farmers, ranchers and their employees havemaintained foodproductionduring the pandemic. Yes, there’s a small groupof peoplewho hold negative opinions of farmers and ranchers—11% in the Gallup survey, 4% in the Morning Consult/AFBF poll—but they’re just that, a smallminority. Someof them, perhaps, work for interest groups or regulatory agencies that want farmers or ranchers tochange their productionprac-
VOL. 48, NO. 16
April 28, 2021
AG ALERT ® weekly newspaper is an official publication of the CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU
www.agalert.com www.cfbf.com
@cafarmbureau @cafarmbureau @cafarmbureau
@calfarmbureau
Board of Directors (District 1) Al Stehly; (2) Andy Wilson; (3) Terry Munz; (4) KevinMerrill; (5) Jenny Holtermann; (6) Joey Airoso; (7) Donny Rollin; (8) Richard Bianchi; (9) Tom Rogers; (10) JanGarrod; (11) JoeMartinez; (12) Paul Sanguinetti; (13) Ron Peterson; (14) Ken Mitchell ; (15) David Barhydt; (16) Garrett Driver; (17) Domenic Carinalli; (18) David Rosenthal; (19) TomStewart; (20) JimMorris; (21) Blake Alexandre; (Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee Chair) Lindsey Mebane. Advisory Members Ronnie Leimgruber, Chair, CFB Rural Health Department; Glenda Humiston, University of California Cooperative Extension. Letters to the editor: Send to agalert@cfbf.com or Ag Alert, Attn: Editor, 2600 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833. Include name, address, phone number, email address; 250-word limit.
Melanie Duval- Chief Marketing Officer Dave Kranz- Editor/Director, Publications and Media Relations Christine Souza- Assistant Editor Ching Lee- Assistant Editor Kevin Hecteman- Assistant Editor Karin Bakotich- Design Services Manager Jessica Cook- Graphic Artist Paula Erath- Graphic Artist Margaret Rodriguez- Operations/Production Manager Darla Quidachay- Production Assistant Chico Ochi- Administrative Supervisor GENERAL INFORMATION: (916) 561-5570 agalert@cfbf.com
ADVERTISING: Chris Tedesco- Manager, Marketing and Business Development (916) 561-5656 Brock Tessandori- Advertising Sales (916) 561-5585 Classifieds: (916) 561-5576 2600 River Plaza Dr., Sacramento, CA 95833. Represented in the East and Midwest by J.L. Farmakis, Inc. Eastern office: Bill Farmakis 48 Topfield Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 (203) 834-8832; Fax: (203) 834-8825. Midwest office: Russ Parker , P.O. Box 7, Albia, IA 52531 (641) 946-7646, Bob Brunker , 8209 NW 81st Ct., Kansas City, MO 64152 (816) 746-8814, Jennifer Saylor , 8426 N. Winfield Ave., Kansas City, MO 64153 (816) 912-2804, Laura Rustmann , 901 Lands End Cir, St. Charles MO 63304, (636) 238-8548. AG ALERT ( i s sn 0161 - 5408 ) i s pub l i shed weekly except weeks of Memor ial Day, July 4,
Thanksgiving, Christmas; and with exceptions, by the Cal i fornia Farm Bureau, 2600 River Plaza Dr. , Sacramento CA 95833 (telephone: (916) 561-5570) . Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento, California. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to AG ALERT, 2600 River Plaza Dr., Sacramento, CA 95833. The California Farm Bureau does not assume responsibility for statements by advertisers or for products adver t ised in AG ALERT nor does the Federation assume responsibility for statements or expressions of opinion other than in editorials or in articles showing authorship by an officer, director, or employee of the California Farm Bureau Federation or its affiliates. No alcohol, tobacco or political ad-
vertising will be accepted. Jamie Johansson , President
Shannon Douglass , First Vice President Shaun Crook , Second Vice President
Printed on Recycled Paper
BPA Business PublicationMember
2 Ag Alert April 28, 2021
Powered by FlippingBook