In Praise Of Pragmatism (Editorial)

Radical ideology rarely has anything of value to offer businesspeople. Business relies, instead, on numbers and on facts, to the best that they can be determined. Arkansas Business, for example, has no plans to give our “Corrections” a new name like “Alternative Facts.”

So the first few days of President Donald Trump’s administration have rattled the agriculture industry in Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (long may it publish).

The president’s decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal was a blow to some farmers in Arkansas, particularly soybean growers and livestock producers, who were hoping to see an increase in exports to the member countries.

Ron Moore, president of the American Soybean Association, told the D-G that “The TPP held great promise for us, and has been a key priority for several years now. We’re very disappointed to see the withdrawal.”

Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said the TPP would have been of particular benefit to livestock producers. “We are disappointed in that,” Veach said. “We thought the new president would go in and make changes, but we didn’t really expect him to completely withdraw.”

Add to that an order last week banning the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service from releasing information to the public, although the Agriculture Department later sought to walk back that order. Andrew Grobmyer, executive vice president of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas, told the paper that farmers depend on research by the ARS.

“Hopefully we are all aiming for the same goal of supporting U.S. agriculture and industry,” Grobmyer said. “We are trying to be understanding and patient.”

All of America is having to adjust to a president who is fulfilling his promises, one of which could also reverse the long-awaited resumption of trade with Cuba. We can only hope that Trump’s vision of a once again great America includes Arkansas’ agriculture industry.