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by  Sara Wyant and Philip Brasher (Agri-Pulse)  Donald Trump’s campaign has set up a geographically diverse team of agricultural leaders that includes congressmen, governors, state agriculture commissioners, trade association leaders and producers of grain, livestock, poultry and fruits and vegetables.

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As Agri-Pulse has previously reported, Charles W. Herbster is chairing Trump’s Agricultural and Rural Advisory Committee, guided by National Chief Policy Advisor Sam Clovis. See more in this video about the leaders of Trump’s Ag Team.

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The governors on the Committee are Terry Branstad of Iowa, Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota, Jack Dalrymple of North Dakota, Mary Fallin of Oklahoma and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Sam Brownback of Kansas.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (a former Texas agriculture commissioner) also is included on the council as well as former Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and James Gilmore, former governor of Virginia.

The agriculture advisory council also includes one former agriculture secretary, John Block; a former deputy secretary during the George W. Bush administration, Jim Moseley; a former assistant Army secretary under Bush who oversaw the Army Corps of Engineers, John Paul Woodley; Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan.; and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway, R-Texas.

Other members of Congress on the list: Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt, Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, and Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte.

The current state agriculture secretaries, commissioners and directors included: Sid Miller of Texas, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Mark Killian of Arizona, Sid Miller of Texas, Ryan Quarles of Kentucky, Jim Reese of Oklahoma, Mike Strain of Louisiana, Ted McKinney of Indiana, Bill Northey of Iowa, Gary Black of Georgia and Walt Whitcomb of Maine. Also on the team is A.G. Kawamura, a former California agriculture secretary and third-generation fruit and vegetable grower in Orange County.

Agribusiness and trade associations are represented on the committee by Chuck Conner, CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Tom Nassif, CEO of Western Growers and Rebeckah Adcock, Senior Director for government affairs at CropLife,

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Steve Wellman and Ron Heck, both former presidents of the American Soybean Association.

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Brian Klippenstein, a former Senate aide who is executive director of Protect the Harvest, an organization formed to fight animal rights organizations. The group was founded by Forrest Lucas, who started Lucas Oil Products Inc. and who is also listed as a member of the agricultural advisory committee.

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For the full committee list, click here  READ MORE  includes VIDEO and MORE (Bloomberg)

Excerpt from Bloomberg:  Nowhere to be found: Any big players from the American Farm Bureau Federation or current chiefs of the major commodity-crop lobbies.

So what does it all mean?

It means that, at least on paper, Trump is making sure his rural surrogates are supporting him on record, which can’t be taken for granted this cycle. It means that farm policy in a Trump administration would be largely guided by the pro-agribusiness, anti-regulation farm “establishment,” rather than outsiders who might do things like, oh, separate the farm bill from food stamps, as called for in the Republican Party platform.

It means that, out of these 64 people, one would very likely be Donald Trump’s secretary of Agriculture, which means those not on the list know who to start being nice to. And it also means that, for all the conservatism of the list’s membership, the biggest lobbies on the farm bill are keeping a half-step of distance between themselves and Trump, lest someone other than Trump actually become president. Several Members of Trump’s Agriculture Committee Have Supported Legal Status for Undocumented Workers  READ MORE