Strategically speaking, America has a lot of advantages on the global stage.
Geographically we are protected by distance from much of the world. The diversity of our expansive countryside means we are blessed with an incredible variety of natural resources. Our inland waterways are the envy of the world – granting every one of our industries affordable and secure interstate commerce.
But all of that is just a starting point.
What truly sets us apart – more than any natural advantage – is our culture. Our culture imbues us with a sense of individualism and creativity that makes us highly adaptable as a people. We accept hardship in stride because our national ethos is one of optimism for a brighter future. It feeds our economic resilience and growth. It drives our pursuits of education, research and development. It gives our fighting men and women an edge on the battlefield.
But nowhere is the value of that culture more evident than in the American agriculture sector.
Yesterday I helped staff meetings between Ohio agricultural producers and their members of Congress. These are the owners and operators of family farms right here in the Buckeye state – a state where just about 95% of farms are family owned small businesses. During those meetings, in their own way that never ceases to amaze me, these agricultural producers demonstrated to those elected officials just how critical their application of that culture is to our national security.
The American farmer is facing incredible challenges right now. On average – due to inflation and anti-competition practices – grain producers are seeing massive spikes in the cost of everything they need to put a crop in the ground, bring it to maturity and then market it in a way to remain profitable and in production. And when I say spikes, I mean five-fold increases to the costs driving their bottom lines. It’s a grim prospect.
In the face of those challenges, what did producers seek? Not a hand out from the government. Not a shield from what’s happening in the world. No. One grower said it best: “I just need access to markets where I can sell my grain.”
It’s incredible to watch these folks go to bat for their industry and their livelihoods. They hold an incredible grasp on the roots of our national culture. They are the rugged individualists who take a gamble every spring, labor through the summer to tend to their craft, all in the hopes of a successful crop that answers a need for consumers around the world.
But right now, we should be seeing these folks as our own domestic special forces. And coming from a Marine, that should mean a great deal.
As international markets tighten in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, their mission becomes tougher. Russia is a major supplier for some of the basic nutrients that crops need grow and thrive. American farmers are shouldering a burden in that sense that many of us just can’t understand. They’re facing a need to improvise, adapt and overcome to a set of circumstances not many of us could begin to fathom in our own businesses.
The bottom line is this – food security, fuel security and fiber security all depend on the American farmer. That idyllic view you have of the family farm may not be sufficient to appreciate the battle they’re in right now. They’re providing the animal feed, the renewable biofuels, and the inputs to nearly everything you buy at the grocery store – and they’re doing it with a sense of purpose. They are the homefront.
I’m never going to apologize for my belief in American exceptionalism. It’s rooted in a simple fact: these people exist. Our culture is an X factor uncommon in human history. The men and women serving as stewards of the land are proving that our culture can meet this moment like it has so many others. Let’s make sure to recognize them as the domestic warriors they really are.
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