The story of agriculture right now is is really two different stories economically prices are pretty good for commodities, corn and soybeans, cattle kind of go up and down.

現在農業的故事是真正的兩個不同的故事，經濟上，商品的價格相當好，玉米和大豆，牛的價格上下波動。

But our expenses have climbed tremendously well.

但是，我們的支出已經大大攀升了。

As you look around everything you see here is made out of steel, aluminum, plastic, rubber and then of course to produce our crops, we need seed, we need fertilizer, we need chemicals.

當你環顧四周，你在這裡看到的一切都由鋼鐵、鋁、塑膠、橡膠製成，然後當然是為了生產我們的作物，我們需要種子，我們需要肥料，我們需要化學品。

Many of those things are produced halfway around the world and so we've been impacted in just about every way that a person can as a small but influential constituency.

其中許多東西是在世界各地生產的，是以，作為一個小而有影響力的選民，我們幾乎在所有方面都受到了影響。

How is inflation affecting their view of how the government has handled the economy and who do they think will deliver the future they want for their land?

通貨膨脹是如何影響他們對政府處理經濟的看法的，他們認為誰會為他們的土地帶來他們想要的未來？

Let's get what's commonly known out of the way.

讓我們把眾所周知的事情說清楚。

American farmers tend to vote Republican.

美國農民傾向於投票給共和黨人。

That was true even in 2020, they overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump despite his damaging trade war with China a key export market for US agriculture but whichever government is in charge, farmers receive generous subsidies running up to the tens of billions annually with support from the US Department of Agriculture breaking records during the pandemic american farmers have a lot going for them from rising commodity prices.

即使在2020年也是如此，他們壓倒性地支持唐納德-特朗普，儘管他與中國進行了破壞性的貿易戰，中國是美國農業的關鍵出口市場，但無論哪個政府執政，農民每年都能得到慷慨的補貼，美國農業部的支持在大流行期間打破了記錄，美國農民從商品價格上漲中獲得了很多好處。

The attention of policymakers and billions of dollars in federal funding with more to come.

政策制定者的關注和數十億美元的聯邦資金，以及更多的資金。

But the agricultural sector is facing a series of challenges from rising energy costs to input prices and many say past policies are to blame.

但是，農業部門正面臨著從能源成本上升到投入價格的一系列挑戰，許多人說過去的政策應該受到譴責。

I guess what what bothers us as farmers is that a lot of this didn't have to happen.

我想，作為農民，讓我們煩惱的是，很多事情都不需要發生。

We were energy self sufficient two years ago and President biden.

兩年前我們的能源是自給自足的，而貝登總統。

First thing he did was shut down the keystone XL pipeline up through this area would have been a tremendous economic benefit.

他所做的第一件事是關閉了通過這一地區的Keystone XL管道，這本來是一個巨大的經濟利益。

And the cost of energy when it rises like it did, causes inflation and re run on diesel fuel, we plant our crops, we do all the things that we have to do to to make that crop grow and prosper and then we harvest it and when energy prices are allowed to get that high, it just works all the way through ultimately to the final consumer who is paying 30 40 50% more for food now because of all that, those higher prices for agricultural products are helping offset some of their ballooning outlays, like the tripling of fertilizer costs in the past year.

當能源成本像它那樣上升時，就會導致通貨膨脹，並且重新使用機油，我們種植我們的作物，我們做所有我們必須做的事情，以使作物生長和繁榮，然後我們收穫它，當能源價格被允許變得那麼高時，它只是一路最終到最終的消費者，因為所有這些，他們現在為食物支付30-40 50%，這些較高的農產品價格正在幫助抵消一些他們膨脹的支出，如去年肥料成本增加兩倍。

But farmers expect their spending to blow past their revenue so we're not losing a lot of money.

但農民期望他們的支出能吹過他們的收入，所以我們並沒有損失很多錢。

But eventually crop prices come back down the supply and demand works its way through and those prices come back and we're certainly hopeful that expenses will come back down with them.

但最終作物價格會回落，供應和需求會發揮作用，這些價格會回來，我們當然希望費用會隨之回落。

But that doesn't always happen right away and there's usually at least a year or two where where the net income is not profitable for the farmers struggling the most help is on the way as part of the $700 billion strong inflation reduction act signed into law by President joe biden earlier this year.

但這並不總是立即發生，通常至少有一兩年的時間，淨收入對掙扎的農民來說是無利可圖的，作為總統喬-拜登今年早些時候簽署的7000億美元強烈通貨膨脹削減法案的一部分，幫助即將到來。

More than $3 billion in aid is going to indebted farmers.

超過30億美元的援助將用於負債的農民。

But despite the name, what the democrat led bill is really meant to do is battle the climate crisis spending a further $20 billion to supplement existing conservation efforts to make farms more sustainable in the long run.

但是，儘管有這個名字，民主黨上司的法案真正要做的是與氣候危機作鬥爭，再花200億美元來補充現有的保護工作，使農場從長遠來看更加可持續。

But the agricultural community has mixed feelings about it.

但農業界對此有不同的感受。

There's a very healthy number of farmers that are always concerned about government spending and so anytime a number like $20 billion dollars is thrown out there, they're they're concerned and they want to know, okay our our Children and grandchildren going to be stuck with the bill for this Brandon, which is done with his harvest for now.

有一個非常健康的數量的農民總是關注政府的開支，是以，無論何時，像200億美元這樣的數字被拋出，他們是他們關注的，他們想知道，好吧，我們的孩子和孫子將被卡在這個布蘭登的賬單上，這是他現在的收穫。

But he says concern for the future and climate change guide his work.

但他說，對未來和氣候變化的關注指導著他的工作。

We've diversified the crops that we raise.

我們已經使我們所飼養的作物多樣化。

We we do a three crop rotation now with wheat, whereas typically for us we were just doing corn and soybeans, you know, 15 years ago now, we are trying to conserve our soil, make sure that it doesn't blow away and windstorms and we're trying to conserve our water to make sure it doesn't run run off during uh you know, large rainfall events in this election season.

我們現在用小麥進行三季輪作，而通常對我們來說，我們只是做玉米和大豆，你知道，15年前，我們正試圖保護我們的土壤，確保它不會被吹走和風災，我們正試圖保護我們的水，確保它不會在呃你知道，在這個選舉季節的大型降雨事件中流走。

Republicans have criticized the land conservation provisions laid out in the bill, accusing the government of overemphasizing climate, but Brandon with says, farmers like him have little time for the political back and forth.

共和黨人責備了法案中規定的土地保護條款，指責政府過分強調氣候，但布蘭登說，像他這樣的農民沒有什麼時間來回討論政治問題。

It's hard to know exactly where the right place for the government to land on that is it's not necessarily that they should be doing more or less.

很難確切知道政府在這方面的正確位置是什麼，不一定是他們應該做得更多或更少。

It's just, you know, we have, we have problems right now that we need to be addressing and we don't have five years to sit and bicker about the realities of the science that we see or what we need to be doing.

只是，你知道，我們有，我們現在有需要解決的問題，我們沒有五年的時間來坐下來爭論我們所看到的科學的現實或我們需要做什麼。

We need to, we need to get down to business right away and so if there's anything that the government can be doing better, it is just, let's be a little quicker rolling out some of this money to farmers so that we can, so that we can do what we do best over at South Dakota State University.

我們需要，我們需要立即開始工作，是以，如果政府有什麼可以做得更好，那就是，讓我們更快地把這些錢發放給農民，這樣我們就可以，這樣我們就可以在南達科他州大學做我們最擅長的事情。

Agricultural economist Hilary says, this moment of economic unpredictability could be an opportunity to ramp up sustainability.

農業經濟學家希拉里說，這個經濟不可預測性的時刻可能是一個加強可持續性的機會。

I would hope with this kind of market uncertainty not only in the commodity market, but also in the input sector, farmers will find it more kind of meaningful or attractive with the incentives coming from the federal government in terms of cost share or subsidies to switch to more sustainable production practices.

我希望隨著這種市場的不確定性，不僅在商品市場，而且在投入部門，農民將發現它更有意義或吸引力，聯邦政府在成本分攤或補貼方面的激勵措施，以轉向更可持續的生產實踐。

However, she cautions the government merely throwing money at the sector to affect the results.

然而，她告誡政府，僅僅向該部門扔錢就能影響結果。

It wants to see a lot of money flowing into it, but still we don't, we don't know how to measure how it's going to be impacting there will be some change, but hopefully down the line, but I don't know how big it will be.

它希望看到大量的資金流入，但我們仍然不知道，我們不知道如何衡量它的影響，會有一些變化，但希望是向下的，但我不知道會有多大。

But one of the key factors will be to get farmers on board instead of going and telling them how to do or what to do.

但關鍵因素之一將是讓農民加入進來，而不是去告訴他們如何做或做什麼。

If you go and tell the producers, you know, it is in their best interest.

如果你去告訴製片人，你知道，這對他們來說是最有利的。

Then I think we could see that change democrat led legislation is unlikely to bring down prices anytime soon and ease economic challenges for farmers.

然後，我認為我們可以看到，民主黨上司的立法變化不太可能很快使價格下降，並緩解農民的經濟挑戰。

There is little evidence the government's efforts will win them votes beyond any election.

沒有什麼證據表明政府的努力會在任何選舉之外為他們贏得選票。

Farmers say they have to balance the needs of the present with the uncertainty of what's to come.

農民們說，他們必須在當前的需求和未來的不確定性之間取得平衡。

What we do in agriculture is you plan for kind of average, pray for the best and prepare for the worst, but you never know what's going to come and you just have to be prepared.

我們在農業方面所做的是，你為平均水平做計劃，為最好的情況祈禱，為最壞的情況做準備，但你永遠不知道會發生什麼，你必須做好準備。

The american people are especially our politicians.

美國人民尤其是我們的政治家。

We think in two and four year election cycles well out here.

我們在這裡以兩年和四年的選舉週期進行思考。

I'm thinking in decades and generations and the job that I have to do is so much bigger in the grand scheme of things than one politician's career.

我想的是幾十年和幾代人，我必須做的工作在宏偉的計劃中比一個政治家的職業生涯大得多。

Uh, I really try not to confuse the two, every administration has things that they do that that I appreciate and things that I don't appreciate.

呃，我真的儘量不把這兩者混為一談，每屆政府都有我欣賞的事情，也有我不喜歡的事情。

And so I don't get too worried about this year's politics or this year's economy.

是以，我不會對今年的政治或今年的經濟過於擔心。

Uh, try to see the big picture.

呃，試著看清大局。

It's through that big picture lens that these farmers will make their choices, whether at the polls or on their farms.

這些農民將通過這種大局觀來做出選擇，無論是在投票站還是在他們的農場。