Hey Libertarians, Quit Ignoring Farmers and Ranchers

By Jennifer Hill

For the last fifty years America’s farmers and ranchers have been held as a solid, easy base for the Republican party. Flyover country has long been considered red and more recently MAGA country. At the heart of their love for Donald Trump and their willingness to overlook so many of his personal downfalls, many of which are in direct conflict with their conservative values, is the fact that the agricultural community has a growing feeling of disaffectedness. They’ve been left to hang by both major parties and were thrilled to have a politician consistently say, “I see you”. The good news about our leaderless and frustrated farmers is that they are primed for Libertarian messaging. What’s even better? America’s agriculture producers and the current Libertarian base already have a lot of great things in common.

Distrustful of Government

Rural Americans are increasingly distrustful of government, a situation that’s growing more profound as the woke left pushes the government further towards a future that conservative Americans don’t support. We are a people who have seen the way government interference in the food production sector has long term negative impacts. We’ve watched what price controls have done to the dairymen, we’ve seen the way Packers and Stockyards is “enforced” and we know the pain of bureaucracy because we wade through it constantly. This distrust of government leaves our ag producers wide open for the messaging of a savvy Libertarian party, who simply need to remind us that everything the government tries just hurts us in the end, including subsidies.

Self-Reliant

Farmers, ranchers and those that live in rural areas are, by necessity, very self-reliant. We all live more than a hop and skip away from amenities and supplies. When COVID hit it wasn’t rural America that emptied the store shelves and then begged the government to help restock because we all had enough on hand to keep us for a good while. The term “farmer-rigged” doesn’t come from nothing. We know how to make do with what we have because that cow or down hay isn’t going to wait for a store to open or help to arrive. Libertarians also preach a message of self-reliance, recognizing that if we are going to limit the size and scope of government everyone is going to have to learn to lean on them a little less. Why not let rural America show you how it’s really done?

Community Minded

Rural communities across America have been struggling for some time. Many small towns that once flourished no longer exist and what skeleton remains is a depressing reminder of what used to be. However, no matter what Main Street may look like all it takes is a visit to a small town football game to know that these communities still have pride and care for one another. When some tragedy befalls a member of the community they rally around one another and lift each other up with financial and emotional support far more than their urban counterparts. This is the same message that Libertarians preach about replacing government assistance with private and local support. If our nation is ever going to move towards less government reliance we are going to have to teach everyone how to solve problems locally, so let’s embrace the communities that are already doing it.

Eternal Optimists

Success in agriculture is dependent on many things outside of the control of a farmer or rancher. We can’t force the weather we need and we are, for the most part, price takers. So why go through all of the pain of the bad years with their ceaseless work and often heartbreaking results? Because we believe that someday soon it will rain. Libertarians also must be optimistic about their potential impact. Goodness knows fighting the duopoly is an Everest like climb and nobody that is consistently black pilled would be able to stomach it for long.

Long Game Players

Agriculture is inherently a long game. Farmers and ranchers get paid once a year and genetic change within a herd is slow. These people are patient and understand that good things take time and lots of work. So does growing a sustainable political and cultural movement. Anyone jumping into the Libertarian movement expecting immediate success is going to find themselves disappointed. One strategy the party has taken on with a view for the long term is local election focus. Conveniently most rural Americans also have a strong local focus. In fact, if we were asked I would imagine we could help the LP improve that local messaging, especially in rural communities.

So Why are We Ignored?

This swath of the rural American voting block has long been ignored by the Libertarian party, the standard reason being that farmers like their subsidies just a little too much. There’s a lot of reasons behind the subsidy cycle, and quality pointed messaging would likely go far to address it. Most agriculturalists spend a massive chunk of their day directly impacted by government regulations. I would wager far more time than your average person. They know this, so it’s easy to view those subsidy checks as a fee for putting up with all the government garbage that holds their operations back. If the LP were to take on the task of explaining what commodity markets could look like without government intervention or being falsely propped up I think they’d find most ag producers open to it. Instead the liberty movement prefers to only reach out to homesteader and hobbyists, platforming them as the liberty voice of agriculture which frankly drives away many of the scale producers. It would be like trying to recruit NFL football players by having weekend warrior rec leaguers lecture to them about everything football. America’s farmers and ranchers have long been ignored and lied to. We are frustrated, angry and scared for the future and nobody is speaking to us. Why not use this moment to introduce us to the Libertarian Party, especially given that we already have so much in common?