Media hacks, with no knowledge of the agriculture industry, blame the plight of the American farmer squarely on our president and his trade negotiations with China.

Well, not so fast. It’s time for “Final Thoughts.”

As a South Dakota girl who grew up around agriculture, when I see farmers and ranchers struggling by no fault of their own, it hits close to home.

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Yes, this so-called trade war with China hits American farmers the hardest. There’s no doubt about it.

Last week, to remedy some of that struggle, President Trump announced a $16-billion-dollar aid package for those farmers impacted by this trade scuffle with China.

“We are gonna do a subsidy program….everybody is asking for money…just give us a flat table…nobody can compete with us…we are giving them a level playing field…giving them that level playing field that’s so important," said Trump.

President Trump, our ranchers don’t want a handout but they would like a level playing field and you can make that happen... easily.

It’s true, our farmers and ranchers don’t want a hand out at all.

They want a level playing field. Few D.C. politicians understand that because they are used to patronizing Americans with lip service and a check.

Now let me be clear, I understand why President Trump issued this aid, the second round since July of last year when the government allocated $12 billion to offset the plight.

Do I think a multi-billion dollar farm subsidy or bailout will fix the problem? No.

But President Trump had to do something to shut up the beltway Democrats and media hacks who launched an anti-Trump smear campaign blaming him for farmer’s woes.

Yes, the trade negotiations with China have certainly been a factor BUT consider this: corn, soybean and wheat prices began their decline in mid-2012, long before Trump took office and imposed tariffs.

Why? Well, there's no single answer for that but overproduction had a lot to do with it.

Our farmers have been planting and preparing enough crops to feed the world and yes, trade uncertainty threw a wrench in the process.

But here’s something else to consider -- although our imports on grain, corn, and soybeans are indeed very low, why are we importing AT ALL?

If we produce enough of those crops to feed the world AND have an overproduction surplus, why import at all, even a tiny amount?

Guess what else we import a lot of in recent years -- beef products.

Follow the money. American cattle ranches rely on American farmers for feed. The American cattleman has been royally screwed over by foreign beef imports with many ranchers run completely out of business.

In fact, according to data compiled by American Cattlemen advocacy group RCALF, we have eliminated over 175,000 cattle farms and ranches since 1994, the year we entered NAFTA.

Consequently, we have 8.5 million fewer cattle today than we had in 1994. Those missing cows would be eating a lot of corn.

Also, if we were raising and feeding the half-a-million cattle that we import each year for immediate slaughter, there would be additional demand for crops that could have fed those animals, right here in the U.S.

Fewer American cattle ranchers leads to less demand for American feed and hence, we now have an over-abundance of corn, grain, and wheat.

A surplus drives down prices and hits our American farmers in the pocketbook. It is all linked.

The USDA is planning a $100 million trade promotion program for livestock producers, yet, if you look at this latest $16-billion-dollar farm bailout, there are allowances for crops, dairy and hogs but NOTHING, ZERO, ZILCH for American cattle ranchers.

President Trump, our ranchers don’t want a handout either but they would like that level playing field and you can make that happen, easily.

Under regulations Trump inherited from the Obama administration, the beef you find in a local grocery store can be labeled ‘Product of USA’ as long as it was packaged here. So it could have been born and raised virtually anywhere.

There is hope, with a stroke of a pen, President Trump could reinstate country of origin labeling on beef products so consumers know where their meat is from.

This simple action would be worth more than a billion-dollar handout or subsidy from Uncle Sam.

This farm aid might be a short-term bandaid for American farmers but what about our American ranchers?

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President Trump, “Made in the USA” used to mean something and you have the power to bring it back. Don’t forget our ranchers.

Those are my “Final Thoughts” from Los Angeles, God bless and take care.

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