Donald Trump’s election to a second term as president drew mostly positive reactions from Western agriculture leaders.

“It’s a two-edged sword,” said Mac Riggan, vice president of sales and business development for Chelan Fresh, a major Washington fruit grower.

Farm officials hoped Trump could help solve problems such as high H-2A guestworker wages, water availability and the stalled farm bill in Congress.

They also expressed reservations about trade tariffs and rhetoric targeting illegal immigrants and deportations.

Personnel is policy

Jeff Stone, Oregon Association of Nurseries executive director, said Trump has shown dexterity in recognizing regulatory impacts on agriculture.

“How supportive he is of the farm bill, that’s where the president’s leadership could be incredibly helpful. There’s a lot of farm operations around the country that are suffering,” Stone said.

Mark Powers, Northwest Horticulture Council president, said who Trump appoints to lead the USDA, Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies will be important and impact the Pacific Northwest’s economy.

“Personnel is policy,” Powers said.

Finding H-2A relief

Powers said new leadership is needed at the Department of Labor to create a better method of establishing wages for foreign H-2A workers.

“Labor rates are really driven by the guestworker program. That’s really the base wage at this point. Finding relief there is critical,” Powers said.

Riggan said the tree fruit industry is heavily dependent on H-2A workers, but they cost thousands of dollars before they pick any fruit.

“We try to bring guys in legitimately and it costs a fortune,” Riggan said.

Riggan also thought Trump’s administration also could lower the cost of petroleum, which impacts the prices of fuel, fertilizer and transportation.

“As a grower, I’d like to see lower costs and then I’ll compete on the open stage as best I can,” he said.

Water reliability

Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau and an almond farmer, said water reliability could be addressed by the new administration.

“During the first Trump administration, we were able to make headway on some of the issues that have cost us water. I think there’s hope we can do better,” Jacobsen said.

California agriculture relies on export markets and a foreign workforce, so tariffs and immigration also are issues that will be watched closely by industry members, Jacobsen said.

Tariff concerns

Tariffs took away important ag markets such as India during Trump’s first term.

Stone was concerned about which countries and which products Trump would target.

“We do know tariffs will likely pose some retaliatory challenges in some markets,” Powers said.

He and Jacobsen noted that in Trump’s first term, there was a recognition of those problems and USDA funding to assist growers.

America first values

Yelena Nowak, executive director of the Oregon Trawl Commission, said Trump will benefit the fishing industry.

“He promised on day one to scratch offshore wind, and that’s a very big concern for our industry. At the federal level, the way it’s being planned is horrible,” Nowak said.

“He stands for America first values and that’s a good thing,” she said.

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