Ag groups ready to work with Biden

Joe Biden is projected to be the 46th president of the United States, after a win in Pennsylvania Nov. 7 pushed him over the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes.

Incumbent President Donald Trump has not conceded and threatened further legal action on ballot counting. Vote totals were narrow in some states, with Georgia considering a likely recount. Nevertheless, Biden made an acceptance speech Nov. 7,  from Wilmington, Delaware.

“I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify. Who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States,” Biden said, in his speech. “And who will work with all my heart to win the confidence of the whole people.”

If the results stand, Kamala Harris will make history as the first woman, and first woman of color, to be elected vice president.

Agriculture advocacy groups congratulated Biden on his win and said they’re ready to work with the president-elect. In a statement, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall called for elected leaders to “turn the page on partisanship” and work across the aisle to meet the unprecedented challenges facing farmers and rural families.

“Show farmers, ranchers and families across America that we will rise to meet the challenges before us together as one nation,” he said.

National Farmers Union President Rob Larew said, in a statement, that the last four year have not been kind to family farmers, citing “overproduction, rampant corporate consolidation, trade disputes and climate change have kept commodity prices stubbornly low.”

But the group feels encouraged by Biden’s vision for U.S. agriculture, which lines up in many ways with issues the National Farmers Union has advocated for, including action on climate change, enforcing antitrust laws and alleviating racial inequities in agriculture.