Biden Travels to Wisconsin to Promote Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal
Published Date: 6/29/2021
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
American agriculture is on track for one of its best years this century as soaring exports to China boost corn, soybean and wheat prices. Yet President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are facing major political challenges in farming regions like the rolling pasture land of southwest Wisconsin, where he travels Tuesday to promote a bipartisan deal on infrastructure that would have benefits for agriculture and rural America. Farm country has been a stronghold for former President Donald Trump and will play an out-sized role in the 2022 contest for control of the 50-50 U.S. Senate, in which disproportionately rural states such as North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio and Wisconsin will be pivotal. “People are generally happy, optimistic and in a better place than in some time,” said Derek Orth, 35, who with his father has 250 Jersey cows on their farm in the hills outside Lancaster, Wisconsin, about 90 miles south of La Crosse, where Biden is set to visit on Tuesday. Orth said the price he received for milk during May was about 20% higher than average over the past five years. The fourth-generation dairy farmer, who backed Trump in 2020, said among his neighbors there is not much talk, positive or negative, about Biden, and his own view is “pretty neutral.” “I have no reason to vote against him -- yet,” Orth said. Rural America has become ground zero for some of Biden’s signature initiatives. His infrastructure plans feature a hefty investment in building out broadband connections in rural areas, and improvements to the transportation network would help speed crops to market. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has promoted farming as an early front for climate-change efforts, stressing voluntary incentives designed to appeal to farmers and the potential for additional income streams through sales of carbon credits. On Tuesday, Biden plans to highlight statistics indicating that 35% of rural families lack high-speed Internet -- and that 82,000 Wisconsin children don’t have access to reliable connections -- to help make the case for his proposals, a White House official said. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake