This morning when at Corteva, Dr. Diehl discussed regulations placed on seed companies and on all GMO products. The science has proven that they are not dangerous to those who consume them so what is the problem? They take about 15 years to be developed and about $150 million in research without seeing a profit. This is similar to The Nutty Farmer’s investment in his chestnut trees. Furthermore, in the USA are regulated by the FDA, USDA, and EPA making it the third most regulated sector in the USA behind pharmaceuticals and crop protection products (read pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides). So again, what is the big deal? Obama had attempted to reduce regulations on GMOs, and rumors are that the Trump administration is decreasing regulations even more.

When visiting the Corn Growers Association and the Soybean Producers Association commodity groups in the afternoon the main focus seemed to be about China. China imports the most soybeans from the USA, and the exports to China have gone down drastically as the trade war continues. There is much speculation as to what is going to happen next; whether the trade war could end, China manipulate their currency or have their infrastructure shifted to South America to supply their demands. These organizations also receive money through check-off programs, the soybeans from federal government check-off programs, and the corn from state check-off programs. The soybean group has different regulations as to what they can do due to it being a federal program, whereas the corn group has a different structure where the checkoff money goes to marketing and media and the other side is lobbying where the funding comes from member dues. The government is dealing with the trade war and listening to concerns these groups voice to attempt to help farmers by giving them checks in an effort to offset the cost of the trade war. Both commodity groups seemed to put on a happy face in a difficult time, and it was difficult to tell how they felt about current policy coming from the Trump administration. Before I began writing this I read an article from Reuters titled “Rural Iowans ponder Trump alternatives as China trade war drags on”. The gist of the article is as the trade war harms farmers, especially soybean farmers, they begin to look at other presidential candidates, resulting in a potential loss of much of President Trumps Midwest voter base.