Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has put together a team of agricultural policy advisers and six of them hail from the Lone Star State, including former Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry.
The former governor and Texas agriculture commissioner Rick Perry, and current Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, have been appointed to the 64-member committee.
The Texans on the advisory board panel include Congressman Mike Conaway (R-TX) from Midland who serves as the U.S. House Agriculture Chairman. Red Steagall, “The Official Cowboy Poet of Texas,” and Johnny Trotter, the CEO of BarG (a 125,000-head feedlot operation) who farms 10,000 acres in Texas, are also on the board. Helen Groves, a rancher and the daughter of Robert Kleberg of King Ranch, is well-known in the Texas ranching industry.
Breitbart Texas talked to Governor Perry’s spokesman, Stan Gerdes.
“Governor Perry grew-up in Paint Creek, Texas, on a dry-land cotton farm. He was born in Haskell. While he was serving as a representative in the Texas House, he served on the Agriculture and Livestock Commission,” Gerdes noted. Perry also served as the State’s agricultural commissioner for two terms prior to becoming governor.
The 47th Governor of Texas also graduated from Texas A&M (originally “Agriculture and Mechanical”) University in the 1970’s and was an Air Force officer and cotton farmer before being the longest-serving governor of the state. Gerdes said, “The Governor has tremendous knowledge and background and can serve in lots of capacities.”
Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller told Breitbart Texas, “I’m all in. I think Trump will be great for agriculture, for lots of reasons.” He explained that there were three very good reasons for Texans and others to support a Trump candidacy. Miller said, “The number one reason is trade. There are countries we cannot get our products into. Hillary may be for free trade, but Donald Trump is for fair trade. He will do what is good for Americans.”
Miller said under a Trump leadership, he could see “beef, pork, grain, cotton, and other agricultural commodities” going to China. He added, “If you don’t like NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), let him renegotiate. He will make a great deal for America. Give him a shot.”
The rodeo champion cowboy and lifetime member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo said that Trump would appoint conservative judges. Miller explained, “How that relates to agriculture is that there are property rights issues, and Second Amendment issues.” He said that many of those in agriculture have their only net income from hunting and fishing leases.
“Donald Trump is a businessman and understands how overbearing and overreaching federal regulations are.” Miller said, “All that would go away under a Trump administration.” He mentioned the burden caused by the regulation of all U.S. waters by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the permits that are required.
The official Trump campaign announcement obtained by Breitbart Texas said, “The men and women on the committee will provide pioneering new ideas to strengthen our nation’s agricultural industry as well as provide support to our rural communities.” The statement added, “Trump understands the critical role our nation’s agricultural community plays in feeding not only our country, but the world, and how important these Americans are to powering our nation’s economy.”
Trump called the members of the agricultural committee, “the best that American can offer to help serve agricultural communities.” He noted that “[m]any of these officials have been elected by their communities to solve the issues that impact our rural areas every day.”
Charles Herbster serves as the National Chairman of the Agricultural and Rural Advisory Committee for the Trump campaign. A list of the other advisory board members can be found here.
Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2.
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