Trump effect creating unease and speculation

“Norsask will continue to monitor events as they progress and adjust accordingly.”

For Dwayne Nachtegaele, who farms outside of North Battleford and is a producer of grains and oilseeds, it’s all speculation until the new administration takes office in January.

“It’s definitely going to be interesting how things go forward,” he said.

Nachtegaele explained the recent appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to the post of United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), will affect how chemicals and pesticides are regulated.

“If he starts gutting the (Food and Drug Administration), but it’s all speculation at this point,” he said of the new HHS secretary known for his anti-vaccine views.

The farmer said at this point, Canada’s producers won’t have an accurate reading on the situation until roughly a year into the term.

“There’s so much negative stuff there – that if’s, could be’s and might be’s and how it’s going to turn out, no one really knows,” he said.

“I mean if he puts on a bunch of tariffs on bunch of Canadian stuff…the thing is, Trump has to be careful because a huge part of his base is rural America.”

According to Lehoux’s statement, any new tariff applied to softwood lumber would be “very detrimental” as the company is “currently penalized 6.74 per cent (counter veiling duty) and 7.66 per cent (anti-dumping) for a total of 14.40 per cent of all softwood lumber sales that cross the U.S border.”

Lehoux added that it’s the company’s opinion that lumber production “will be essential to home building success in the U.S market in the coming years.”

Meanwhile, President-elect Trump made the announcement of Kennedy’s appointment Thursday on both X and Truth Social.

“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” the X post read in part.

“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country. Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

Misinformation, Nachtegaele said, was to blame for much of the perception that unhealthy food comes from farms.

“It’s not,” he said.

“There’s a lot of misinformation that we’re dousing our crops in chemicals and herbicides and pesticides and we’re not. We can’t afford to do that.”

That truth, he said, stretched beyond borders.

“We put on the bare minimum and so it’ll be interesting to see, first of all how the mid-west corn and soybean producers react to what policies get put in place,” he said.

“As far as Canadians, all we can do is sit back and watch.”

—

julia.lovettsquites@pattisonmedia

On X: jls194864

by Julia Lovett-Squires

Trump effect creating unease and speculation

What's Trending