Presidential Candidates Answer Farmers’ & Ranchers’ Questions
Every four years, the American Farm Bureau Federation asks the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees to address the issues that concern farmers and ranchers the most. The organization asked Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump the same questions.
Both candidates explained their positions on biotechnology, trade, immigration reform, regulatory reform, food safety and more. To view the candidates’ responses, visit http://fbnews.fb.org/Templates/Article.aspx?id=40466
California Farmer Stands Up To Federal Regulators
John Duarte, a fourth-generation California farmer, nursery owner and Farm Bureau member, has taken a stand against the federal government over whether farming is a violation of federal law and is making his story available in a very public way.
To help fund his legal defense effort, Duarte has established a page telling his story on the GoFundMe platform.
Duarte is in a legal battle with federal regulators over whether he violated federal law by plowing his land. Duarte and his family are facing fines of $8 million, and potentially the loss of his home, just for plowing his land to plant wheat. The cost of his legal defense already has run into the millions. While Duarte is taking a stand, he also is asking the broad agricultural community to stand with him because of the important legal issues at stake for all farmers and ranchers.
“What makes Duarte’s story different is he ran head-on into regulators wanting to make him an example by calling into question his use of normal farming practices in an area they have identified as a water of the U.S.,” says American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.
Duarte has a mortgage on 450 acres of California farmland that a court has ordered him not to farm, along with still-rising legal bills, currently estimated at $1.5 million. See more in the AFBF video – “California Farmers Stand up to Federal Enforcers on Water Regulations.”