Last week we told you that neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris have material on their campaign websites directly addressing issues important to agriculture.

The candidates’ positions on farm issues had to be pieced together from their previous comments and their responses to the American Farm Bureau’s election year questionnaire. The campaigns employ surrogates to speak about ag on the candidates’ behalf, but the former president and the current vice president have said little or nothing.

The candidates do a disservice to not only agriculture, but the country at large by not recognizing the importance of agriculture to the security of every American.

Part of this is due to demographics.

In 1900, 60% of Americans lived in rural areas, and 40% actually lived on farms. That’s a huge voting bloc. Candidates themselves had strong ties to rural communities and farming. Agriculture made up a big part of the nation’s economy, so financial stability in farming was important to the entire country.

In 2024, just 14% of Americans live in rural areas. And less than 2% live on farms. Outside of the Iowa caucuses, there aren’t many votes to be had stumping to farmers.

Agriculture and its related industries are still big business — a bit more than $1.5 trillion. But that’s just 5.6% of gross domestic product.

Voters don’t spend much time thinking of farmers. Most Americans have no direct connection to the farm, or the businesses that support agriculture.

Unless, of course, you count the three meals a day consumed by the vast majority of the more than 337 million people living in the United States.

The shelves of America’s 62,000 grocery stores are packed with food. The average grocery store can have anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 different products on the shelves. There are more than three-quarters of a million restaurants serving all types of food at all hours of the day.

Citizens of the United States, those people who can legally vote in next month’s elections, live in a country that has not experienced famine. Those who have known hunger are the victims of poverty, not inadequate production.

It turns out, every American has a vested interest in agriculture. But like politicians, most Americans take that bounty for granted.

Unfortunately, any number of the policies advocated by the candidates, and actively supported by their constituents, could have huge impacts on farmers and their ability to produce the food and fiber.

It’s up to farmers and ranchers to press their case to the candidates and demand the attention the producers of these vital resources deserve.

Farmers and ranchers need not apologize for looking after their own interests. It’s becoming increasingly clear there are fewer people in politics pressing their case.