December 2019 - 40

AG LABOR REVIEW
Farm challenges include full slate of issues
MICHAEL MARSH
President & CEO
National Council of
Agricultural Employers
Michael@ncaeonline.org
One of the very best things I get to do in
my job is something I have always enjoyed.
I get to meet, talk and, most importantly,
listen to farmers and ranchers.
When I was little and I'd go hunting with
my dad, and my tagalong little brother, it
was always a part of the ritual that you'd
have coffee and visit with the family who
had graciously granted permission for
the stalk. It was fascinating to listen to the
conversation that occurred around those
kitchen tables. A lot of the discussion was
foreign to me being a town kid but, the
breadth of the topics was fascinating.
I think of that yet today and I'm still
fascinated, whenever I get the opportunity.
I have a tough time imagining any other
vocation within our economy upon which
so many topical issues touch, than farming
or ranching. I leave each of these discussions
most grateful for the education.
Think of it.
Monetary policy and interest rates are
felt every day by the farmer and rancher.
When the value of the dollar increases,
U.S. agricultural commodities are less
competitive in the global market. And,
when budget deficits increase as a result
of federal spending exceeding revenues,
competition for capital to finance farming
and ranching operations becomes more
expensive as domestic fiscal policy impacts
operator's bottom lines.
New foreign markets, which are
exceedingly difficult to forge, retreat in
the face of trade wars. But U.S. farmer and
rancher productivity is difficult to harness,
so surpluses created as a result of loss of
markets, undermine pricing for the bounty
produced. This makes it difficult to sustain
family businesses.
Farmers and ranchers are always on the
front line when it comes to environmental
issues, too. Water quality and air quality
issues are easy pickings for activists who
want to point a finger at someone, settling
that pointed finger on the people who
feed and clothe us all. Too often, when the
scientific facts roll in, it is revealed that
while the one finger was being pointed
in agriculture's direction, the other four
fingers were pointing somewhere else.
And, of course, sitting at those tables
I learned that through some wizardry,
city folk have a leg up on farm and ranch
families' knowledge when it comes to things
like fertilizer application, animal welfare
and agricultural labor. Consequently, city
folk insight is instructive as to how much
nitrogen a crop might need, how much
room a laying hen requires in her coop and,
of course, the number of workers a farmer
or rancher might have to have to tend to
and harvest their crop.
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Thank America's
farmers and ranchers
for being the best
in the world at what
they do.
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When it comes to technology, farmers
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and ranchers are innovators and early
adopters. When irrigation requires two
acre-feet, it makes little sense to use five.
It also costs quite a bit more to flood
an orchard than it might to use drip
irrigation. Companies like Google and
Tesla have invested in self-driving cars.
Perhaps they should take a lesson or two
from John Deere, as it might speed those
tech companies' development.
But maybe, one of the best lessons I
glean even today when I visit with farmers
and ranchers, is the great wisdom that's
derived when you're signing the front of a
paycheck instead of just the back.
Keeping these lessons in mind, and the
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40 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
Tom Jacobs
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Carol Korey
New York
845-544-4122
humility with which they were taught, is
invaluable as I head up to Capitol Hill to
brief staff and members of Congress.
I wanted to share just a few thoughts
about one of the most enjoyable aspects of
my job as Thanksgiving nears. I encourage
my friends and my colleagues to find the
pleasure I do in listening to the people that
make America work.
And, to thank America's farmers and
ranchers for being the best in the world at
what they do. VGN
NEW
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December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2019
