State Ag Director Ted McKinney and four Indiana CEO’s are among 64 people the Trump campaign says will advise him on farm policy. The business leaders include the owners of Tom Farms in Leesburg, Rose Acre Farms in Seymour, and Fair Oaks Dairy. The fourth is Lucas Oil’s Forrest Lucas, who founded the farmers’ rights group Protect the Harvest. Also on the panel are two Indiana natives who served as deputy secretaries of agriculture under President George W. Bush, Chuck Conner and Jim Moseley.
The campaign announced the panel on Tuesday, but McKinney says the group has already held a couple of conference calls with the campaign to suggest what issues are significant for farmers. McKinney and Kip Tom, both point to regulatory overreach as the top of the list. McKinney says the group has also pointed the campaign toward examining how tax and trade policies affect farmers.
According to the Trump Campaign, “The formation of the board represents Donald J. Trump’s endorsement of these individuals’ diverse skill sets and ideas that can improve the lives of those in agricultural communities.” Many current and former leaders of national farm organizations are on the list, along with several key members of Congress. Former Secretary of Agriculture and now national commentator, Jack Block, is on the team and has reportedly been instrumental in pushing the campaign to modify its strong opposition to trade agreements like TPP.
Advisory board members include:
Charles Herbster – National Chairman of the Agricultural and Rural Advisory Committee for the Donald J. Trump Campaign for President
Sam Clovis – National Chief Policy Advisor for the Donald J. Trump Campaign for President
Rebeckah Adcock -CropLife, Senior Director, Government Affairs
Robert Aderholt – Congressman from Alabama; Chairman, Subcommittee on Agriculture
Jay Armstrong – Kansas Wheat Commission; Chairman, Farm Foundation
Gary Black – Commissioner Agriculture, Georgia
John Block – Former Sec. of USDA
Mike Brandenburg – State Legislator, North Dakota
Terry Branstad – Governor of Iowa
Sam Brownback – Governor of Kansas
Chuck Conner – CEO, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
Mike Conaway – House Agriculture Chairman
Jack Dalrymple – Governor of North Dakota
Dennis Daugaard – Governor of South Dakota
Rodney Davis – Congressman from Illinois; House Agriculture committee and Subcommittee Chair of Bio Tech
Mary Fallin – Governor of Oklahoma
Eddie Fields – Senator, Oklahoma; Chair Senate Ag and Rural Development
Steve Foglesong – Former President National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
Jim Gilmore – Former Governor Virginia; Chairman of Report on Terrorism and Agro-Terrorism
Bob Goodale – Former CEO of Harris Teeter
Bob Goodlatte – Congressman, Virginia; Former Chairman House Agriculture Committee
Mike Green – State Senator, Michigan; Appropriations Agriculture Chair; Senate Agriculture Committee Vice Chair
Helen Groves – Rancher; daughter of Robert Kleberg (King Ranch); Well known in TX/ranching world
Ron Heck – Iowa farmer and Past President of the American Soybean Assoc.
Dave Heineman – Former Gov. Nebraska
Hans Hunts – State Legislator, Wyoming; Wyoming House Ag Committee; Rancher
Cindy Hyde – Smith – Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Mississippi
Brent Jackson – State Senator, North Carolina
A.G. Kawamura – Former Sec. Food & Agriculture, California
John Kautz – California wine producer; CEO Ironstone Vineyards
Charlotte Kelly – Tennessee cotton grower along with her husband (14,000 acres) plus operating a cotton gin processing 30,000 plus bales and a leader in the cotton industry
Mark Killian – Commissioner of Agriculture, Arizona; Farmer and rancher AZ
Brian Klippenstein – Protect the Harvest
Tsosie Lewis – Former CEO of Navaho Nation’s Agricultural Products Industries
Forrest Lucas – CEO Lucas Oil; Protect the Harvest
Mike McCloskey – CEO Fair Oaks Farms- one of largest dairies in U.S.
Beau McCoy – State Senator; Nebraska Nat. Chr. Council State Govts
Ted McKinney – Former Director of Global Corp. Affairs for Elanco Animal Health
Sid Miller – Commissioner of Agriculture, Texas
Jim Moseley – Former consultant on agriculture at EPA; Former Deputy Secretary of USDA
Brian Munzlinger – Chairman Missouri Senate Ag Committee
Casey Murdock – State Senator, Oklahoma
Tom Nassif – President Western Growers; Former Ambassador
Garry Niemeyer – Former President National Corn Growers
Bill Northy – Secretary of Ag, Iowa
Sonny Perdue – Former Gov. Georgia
Rick Perry – Former Gov. Texas
Ryan Quarles – Commissioner of Agriculture, Kentucky
Bruce Rastetter – Summit Ag Group of Alden, Iowa; Hosted first Republican Presidential debate
Jim Reese – Secretary of Agriculture for Gov. Mary Fallin of OK
Larry Rhoden – Senator South Dakota; House Majority Leader and Sen Majority Whip; Chair Senate Ag Committee
Pete Ricketts –Governor of Nebraska
Pat Roberts – U.S. Senator Kansas
Marcus Rust – CEO Rose Acre Farms- second largest egg producer in U.S.
Leslie Rutledge – Attorney General, Arkansas; Co-Chair of the National Association of Attorney General Agriculture Committee and is married to a soybean producer
David Spears – Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Dole Ag Advisor; Senior Vice President, Mid-Kansas Cooperative, Inc.
Dr. Mike Strain – Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, Louisiana
Red Steagall – Official Cowboy Poet of Texas
Annette Sweeney – Former Iowa House Agriculture, Chair; Farmer; Agriculture Advocate
Kip Tom – CEO, Tom Farms LLC-Largest Agri-Business farm operator in Indiana; Operates farms in South America
Johnny Trotter – CEO of BarG- 125,000 feedlot operation and farms 10,0000 acres in TX
Steve Wellman – Former President of the American Soybean Association
Walt Whitcomb – Ag Commissioner, Maine
John Wilkinson – Chairman, Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee Georgia State Senate