Ohio farmers back Trump despite policy void

Mr Trump arrived at the podium about 90 minutes behind his scheduled starting time, after holding two other rallies on the same day in Ohio at Springfield and Toledo.

The lengthy delay frustrated and impacted the assembled crowd, with many leaving the venue well before his 40-minute talk ended.

However, the outspoken Republican candidate wasted no time revving-up the crowd when he finally arrived and started delivering his animated speech.

He estimated the rally attendance at 13,000 to 15,000 saying thousands more were outside still trying to enter the packed Spire Institute, US Olympic training facility.

Mr Trump made a typically colourful speech affirming and repeating many of his core election promises to grass-roots supporters, including building a wall between the US and Mexico.

He said the wall would be built “one hundred percent” if he’s elected and that Mexico would be paying for it.

Pete Wayman - a third generation fruit and vegetable producer from Madison Township near Geneva - said that as a farmer, he attended the rally out of concern for his country’s future direction.

Mr Wayman said social “liberalism” and “wasteful spending” was taking its toll on the national economy and dulling the quality of life for US citizens.

He wants a government elected that can tighten its belt and rein in taxpayer spending in the same way that he’s forced to in managing his farm operation from season to season.

Mr Wayman said many people were receiving government funding but not working for it and that “abuse” of government social services and spending “needs to stop”.

“Half the country doesn’t work anymore and that’s part of our problem,” he said.

“I think Mr Trump can expose a lot of these problems in Washington and turn it around.”

However, Mr Wayman was undeterred by Mr Trump’s lack of announcements on agricultural-specific policies during the election campaign.

In his Geneva address - less than two weeks before the November 8 election date - the Republican candidate made no direct reference to farm policy or any announcements.

But Mr Trump has revealed a high level agricultural advisory committee comprising 65 members that’s expected to convene on a regular basis.

“Mr Trump understands the critical role our nation’s agricultural community plays in feeding not only our country, but the world, and how important these Americans are to powering our nation’s economy,” a statement said in mid-August.

“The members of my agricultural advisory committee represent the best that America can offer to help serve agricultural communities.”

In contrast, his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton has revealed a detailed plan for a “vibrant rural America” that has acknowledged agriculture’s role boosting the national economy - including plans to increase family farm production and profitability - and the gap in basic access to services like health in many rural communities.

“We must do more to ensure the vitality of our rural areas - not only because America’s 46 million rural residents make up nearly 15 percent of our population, but also because rural America provides the foundation for the entire country’s economic success,” he statement said.

Her plan includes doubling funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program to provide education, mentoring, and technical assistance to aspiring farmers and ranchers.

It also pledges to fight for comprehensive immigration reform “because America's immigrants and migrant workers play a critical role in developing and supporting America's agricultural economy”.

Mr Wayman said he heard very little from Mr Trump on farm policy commitments during the election campaign but believes there are more important issues to address, at this time, like wasteful spending and national security that’s “way out of control”.

“Our military is very weak and we have a lot of problems in this country and a lot of people don’t realise it,” he said.

“At this point in time we’re okay for agricultural policy – farming is in good shape in this country so that’s not a big concern for me, believe it or not.”

Mr Wayman said he believed Mr Trump was “on the right track” and would win the election which would include strong support from blue collar workers and other voters in rural communities.

“If Donald Trump keeps going in the direction he’s going, I think he’ll drive his point home in the next two weeks and I really believe he’ll win this election,” he said.

“I think he’ll pull the vote of the farming community, in Ohio, for sure.

“There’s a lot of agriculture in Ohio so he’ll do really well out here.

“I think he’ll lose (votes) in the inner city areas, in the big cities, but throughout the States, in the rural areas, he’ll do really well.”

Mr Wayman said Mr Trump had strong traction with farmers and rural voters because “he speaks to common sense conservatism “.

“People like their religion and they like their guns, as do I, and he speaks to those points,” he said.

In contrast, he believes Ms Clinton is “way too far to the left” and if elected her regime would only deliver “more of the same”.

He said a Clinton administration would “give the store away and build the national debt - but we don’t need that”.

“We owe our soul to China right now and it has to stop somewhere,” he said.

Retirees Wayne and Dorothea Westbay of North Kingsville in Ohio said they attended the rally and backed the Trump campaign because “we want to keep our guns”.

They said they also wanted to see integrity restored to the US Constitution and an increase in the general moral standard of living and family values.

Mr Westbay said he agreed with Mr Trump’s campaign message that the election was “rigged” due to a voting system that’s manipulated by the government and biased media reporting towards Ms Clinton and the Democrats.

Ms Westbay said she was worried about the nation’s future under a Democratic government but believes Mr Trump will “bring this country back to the people again”.

She said she did not believe anything Ms Clinton said about Mr Trump’s treatment of women and stressed that the various allegations raised during the feisty campaign stemmed from incidents “many years ago”.

“Every man has made mistakes,” she said.

Ms Westbay said she’d been watching Mr Trump closely during the presidential election season and believed he’d started out at first as “a very hard man” but had “softened” his attitude in more recent times.

“He seems to be a lot softer now and is more concerned and genuine about the needs of the people, having gone through this election process and meeting with real people, in places like Geneva,” she said.

The Westbays said the election had attracted unsavoury headlines - especially allegations regarding the treatment of women by Mr Trump and Ms Clinton’s husband and former US President Bill Clinton - but the outcome was critical to the nation’s future.

“I won’t know what to do with myself after the election,” Ms Westbay said.

Small business owner Brian Kolkowski of Painesville, Ohio, attended the rally with wife Barbara and said he was supporting Mr Trump at the polls due to the Republican’s business credentials and plans to cut red tape.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that Donald Trump is the candidate that’s best for America’s future,” he said.

“I think on a number of points (he’s the best candidate) but mainly on economic issues.”

Mr Kolkowski said he had part ownership in three businesses that employed about 85 people in the defence sector and medical devices.

He said the economic climate had been very difficult over the past eight years under the Obama regime with business regulations expanding which he feared would only continue if Ms Clinton won office.

“I don’t think that’s good for our business, our employees or our country,” he said.

Mr Kolkowski said he typically voted for the best candidate.

“If the Democrats could do a better job I’d certainly vote for them,” he said.

He said Ohio had traditionally been viewed as a bellwether State given its voter-base was evenly divided between the two major parties and had gone to the party that had won the election, in recent times.

“What I’ve always found is that people are often afraid of change, even though that change is not necessarily bad, and because Donald Trump represents change, he’s certainly gained a lot of attention during this election campaign,” he said.

Jim Klco lives in Geneva and works for a natural gas company, while his brother is also a full time fruit and vegetable farmer living and working in the region.

Mr Klco said Mr Trump wasn’t his first pick as the Republican presidential candidate but he likes the people he has surrounded himself with, like running mate Mike Pence.

He said the federal government had become too big which under the Obama regime was exhibited in the way the Environmental Protection Agency was doing its job.

“The EPA is just squishing farmers with regulations and preventing them from doing the basic things they need to do to produce food,” he said.

“Instead of being there for the common folk the EPA are the enemy of the man who is trying to farm and make a living from it.

“Here in Ashtabula County we are right on the fringe of the bread basket of the Mid West, which is a major food supplier for most of the world.

“But Obama has made the government bigger and made it harder on the farmers and Hillary Clinton will just continue doing that if she’s elected.”

Mr Klco said he hoped to hear Mr Trump promise to repeal Obamacare at the rally, if elected, saying the new health system had been a “disaster”.

Mr Trump didn’t disappoint, telling the vocal rally that in 12-days, “we are going to win Ohio and we are going to win back the White House, believe me”.

He said he planned to immediately repeal and replace Obamacare that’s “been a disaster from the day it was approved” and should have never been approved.

“It was approved by lies,” he said.

“It is a total catastrophe, Obamacare in this country, and Hillary Clinton wants to keep it and make it more expensive.

“Replacing Obamacare is one of the single most reasons why we want to win on November 8.”