JD Vance’s agriculture agenda: What’s next for Ohio farmers?

Farah Siddiqi

With President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance now in office, Ohio's farming community is watching closely to see how their policies could shape the industry.

While agriculture was not a major focus of Vance's campaign, Vance's record in the U.S. Senate provides clues about where he stands on key farming issues.

Kenny Torrella, a senior reporter who covers agriculture for the online publication Vox, said Vance has mostly followed a pattern of favoring deregulation when it comes to farming policies.

"When it comes to agricultural policy, the general approach is deregulation, both from Democrats and Republicans," Torrella observed. "Most farms are generally exempt from the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act; all farms are exempt from the Animal Welfare Act."

During his time in the Senate, Vance cosponsored legislation to exempt farms from Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure rules about greenhouse gas emissions, arguing they place an undue burden on farmers. However, environmental groups said limiting reporting requirements could make it harder to address agriculture's role in emissions.

As farms play a vital role in Ohio's economy, many want to see how the new administration will approach policies like the Farm Bill and foreign ownership of farmland. Torrella pointed out the balancing act between deregulation and sustainability will be a major factor in how farmers respond to the administration's policies.

"How the EPA begins to measure and implement rules on air pollutants; these massive factory farms pump out a lot of air pollutants," Torrella outlined. "This year, it's finally, after two decades, going to start measuring those pollutants and issuing Clean Air Act permits."

Torrella added another bill, known as the EATS Act, will be key in setting animal welfare laws. The new administration has yet to lay out a comprehensive farm agenda but decisions on trade, subsidies and environmental policies will all affect the industry, in Ohio and across the country.

This story is based on original reporting by Seth Millstein for Sentient.