The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:20 PM

President Trump Becomes First President Since George H.W. Bush In 1992 To Address Farm Bureau's Members In Nashville; President Praises Farmers, Promises Washington D.C. Support

President Donald Trump delivered a lengthy speech to the Farm Bureau Association conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Trump praised the hard work of farmers and those in the agriculture industry.

He added that he was the first president to address the nation's farmers since George H.W. Bush in 1992.

"Our [nation's] independence was won by farmers - our continent was tamed by farmers," Trump said. "Our Army is fed by farmers. Farmers have always led the way."

Trump said America's farmers show "the hard work, grit and self-reliance we need to... make America great again."

Trump promised to continue removing regulations that have stymied production and growth in rural America.

He said he will end the Obama-era "Waters of the United States Rule," which puts the federal government in charge of certain creeks, wetlands, and even smaller bodies of water on farmland.

President Barack Obama called the rule mandatory to protect drinking water and the environment, while critics - like those quoted in Politico - said it gives the government "carte blanche to... penalize landowners every time a cow walks through a ditch."