Rural America doesn’t support Biden, but he keeps working and producing real policies to benefit it

Joe Biden won’t carry South Dakota in 2024. He won’t even come close.

That doesn’t mean President Biden isn’t working for people in this state, or other states that supported Donald Trump in 2020 and will do so again if given the chance.

Biden is doing the work a president is supposed to do, solving problems and making decisions to help and support as many Americans as possible. That’s not always good politics, especially in this hyper-partisan age.

We live in a time when many people, especially conservative Republicans, are willing to vote for politicians who will not act on their behalf, won’t support policies that benefit them, and refuse to use political capital to make a difference in their lives.

As long as they spout the right — far right — drivel, they are trained to applaud. If their idols use the key buzzwords — “woke,” abortion, border security and more — they will be cheered and applauded. That’s the state of American politics today.

Meanwhile, Biden, who has been working in the system for more than half a century, just keeps trying to get laws passed and policies enacted that actually do something. What a concept!

On Nov. 1, Biden announced $5 billion in investments that will go directly to rural communities. Much of this will benefit people who ridicule him, spew hatred at him and adorn themselves with “Let’s Go Brandon” T-shirts and caps.

But he still is working hard for them.

“We’re investing over $5 billion to fix aging and critical rural infrastructure, install clean energy technologies, help more farmers adopt practices to fight climate change, and more,” Biden said.

Biden has consistently been a friend to rural America. On July 9, 2021, he and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor who also served as head of the USDA during the Obama administration, announced reforms that allowed farmers to repair their own tractors.

“Corporate consolidation even affects farmers’ ability to repair their own equipment or to use independent repair shops,” according to a White House statement. “Powerful equipment manufacturers — such as tractor manufacturers — use proprietary repair tools, software, and diagnostics to prevent third parties from performing repairs. For example, when certain tractors detect a failure, they cease to operate until a dealer unlocks them. That forces farmers to pay dealer rates for repairs that they could have made themselves, or that an independent repair shop could have done more cheaply.”

Right to repair became a hot issue on farms in recent years, especially after John Deere added a clause to end-user license agreement in October 2016. It stated that tractor owners must use technicians approved by the company to make repairs connected to tractor software.

That meant that instead of doing repairs themselves, often in the field while working, or contacting a local shop, farmers had to work with a dealership or authorized repair shop. That often added time and cost to the process, and the question of who had the right to repair a tractor became a point of contention.

Tractor manufacturers claimed they were only looking out for the farmers. Really?

In 2017, Chuck Studer, John Deere’s director of industry relations, told Successful Farming that 95% to 98% of tractor repairs do not require access to software.

“Our licensing agreement is there to really support, in many ways, the customer’s right to repair,” Studer said. “Yet, it provides protection on the intellectual property related to the embedded code itself. The products we make are extremely sophisticated. In many cases, the software is an integral part of the operation of that vehicle, and it is there to ensure the right customer experience.”

Tractor companies have said the restrictions are often tied to concerns about emissions or safety, not an attempt to force farmers to pay higher repair bills. Three companies — Deere and Co., CNH Industrial, and AGCO — manufacture 95% of large tractors.

Farmers have tried to get companies to release information on their computerized programs. Both the American Farm Bureau Federation, which leans conservative, and the National Farmers Union, which has more liberal views, supports the right to repair.

Some farmers have resorted to buying and using older tractors that don’t rely on computers. But the call to allow them to repair their own tractors has only grown louder in recent years.

Trump refused to do anything about it. Biden heard, and acted. Farmers should think of that when they apply a wrench to their tractor.

Biden’s 2021 executive order was intended to promote competition in agriculture, which will help farmers.

“What we’ve seen over the past few decades is less competition and more concentration that holds our economy back,” he said. “So we know we’ve got a problem — a major problem. But we also have an incredible opportunity. We can bring back more competition to more of the country.”

Vilsack said it was a major accomplishment.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the food system so it is more resilient to shocks, delivers greater value to growers and workers, and offers consumers an affordable selection of healthy food produced and sourced locally and regionally by farmers and processors from diverse backgrounds,” he said.

Farmer advocacy groups have pressed for change for years but Congress and the meat processing industry have resisted, and the Trump administration blocked them as well.

Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is prepared to act with several sweeping measures, including a $500 million investment in encouraging local and regional meat-packing operations.

Another change will allow farmers to bring a complaint against the few giant corporations who have assumed control over meatpacking, while the second will ensure that beef labeled as a “Product of the USA” was from cattle actually raised and fed here, not merely imported for slaughter.

The goal of the first rule is to ensure producers are treated fairly by Tyson Foods, JBS, National Beef, and Cargill Inc., which control 75% of U.S. beef production. It’s a cartel, and while these corporations grow fat, farmers are left with the lean remains.

With this new regulation in place, farmers will more easily be able to express their concerns under the Packers and Stockyards Act.

Currently, a farmer must show that a company was harming the entire industry rather than an individual, according to multiple court rulings. This new rule will reduce that high burden of proof.

It will help poultry and pork producers who say they are locked into long-term deals that keep their compensation at a low level despite rising costs. That has been disastrous for many farmers, who provide the barns and the labor while the companies provide the chicks, feed and professional guidance.

The president has shown he is willing to work with representatives from all states, including three bright red ones in the Midwest. On Wednesday, legislators and economic development leaders from South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska were at the White House to discuss investments from the Biden administration for infrastructure, manufacturing, domestic energy and curbing inflation. They did not meet with the president, but they were briefed by staff members. Vilsack also was in attendance.

“It’s an honor to be here with other leaders from North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota,” state Sen. Reynold Nesiba of Sioux Falls said in a press release. “To really talk about the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the ways in which South Dakota families are and will be benefiting from this legislation.”

Nesiba (who along with the others is seen at the event in the photo above, provided by the South Dakota Democratic Party) was joined by state Sen. Shawn Bordeaux of Mission, Sen. Liz Larson of Sioux Falls, Rep. Linda Duba of Sioux Falls, Rep. Kadyn Wittman of Sioux Falls, Rep. Kameron Nelson of Sioux Falls, Rep. Eric Emery of Rosebud.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Law was not supported by Sens. John Thune, Mike Rounds or Rep. Dusty Johnson, because Biden is a Democrat. That’s why.

The SDDP notes that it is already delivering results for South Dakota, with $2.2 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding headed to South Dakota with over 251 specific projects identified for funding. Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed, approximately $1.5 billion has been announced for transportation to invest in roads, bridges, public transit, ports and airports. Roughly $337 million has been announced for clean water and water infrastructure.

South Dakota received $207.2 million to connect everyone in the state to reliable high-speed internet and more than 21,000 South Dakota households are already saving on their monthly internet bill due to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In addition to infrastructure investments, several South Dakota processing plants have received USDA funding, creating stability in the food chain and supporting local producers through small and midsize processing plants.

The trip to D.C. provided a chance for South Dakotans to learn more about these programs. It also allowed them to tell folks back home that Biden and Democrats are actually getting something accomplished.

“Today was a great opportunity for us to come to the White House and learn a little bit more about the efforts that are happening to help South Dakota grow and improve,” Bordeaux said.

South Dakota Democratic Party Executive Director Dan Ahlers said the White House hosts a variety of meetings during the year.

“This particular meeting was discussing the impact and projects related to the Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act,” Ahlers said. “Our state legislators have attended a couple meetings this year. One I think was related to childcare and children based issues.”

He said the SDDP did not fund the trip.

“These are the individuals that I know attended this event,” Ahlers said. “To my knowledge these people are responsible for paying their own way to these White House visits.”

Also on the trip were Susan Williams of the Transformation Project, Jessica Meyers, cofounder and CEO of Porchlight Services, Erik Muckey, founder and managing partner of PASQ, Lawrence Todd of the South Dakota Education Association and Krista Scott of DX Beef.

The SDDP needs to shout from the rooftops about Biden’s work on behalf of rural America. They need to go on radio and TV talk shows, submit letters to the editor and guest columns, speak about it online and in meetings, and let as many South Dakotans as possible know about what is being done to help them.

It won’t make a difference in 2024, of course. But it might influence some voters, and cause others to consider the reality of what Biden is actually getting accomplished.

That should matter, shouldn’t it?

Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states and contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The  Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets.