关于10月8日的新闻报道《农民对燃油成本感到不满，但有些人仍坚持支持共和党》以及9月29日的新闻报道《民主党争取被特朗普经济压榨的农民的支持》，我理解农民在燃油和肥料成本上面临的困境。然而，如今共和党无法忽视的因素远不止这些。我们似乎已经忘记了作物——这才是让农民成为农民的根本。太多农民种植的田地原本用于向USAID出售作物，如今却无处可去。
Regarding the Oct. 8 news story “Farmers are upset about fuel costs, but some are sticking with Republicans anyway” and the Sept. 29 news story “Democrats make a play for farmers squeezed by Trump’s economy I understand why farmers are struggling with fuel and fertilizer costs. There are, however, many other factors in play now that Republicans cannot ignore. We seem to have forgotten about crops — the very thing that makes farmers farmers. Too many farmers planted fields whose yields used to be sold to USAID and now have no destination. Too many farms have crops that cannot be harvested because there are no pickers. Too many farmers who accepted federal subsidies to install wind and solar fields have been left with tens of thousands of dollars of debt because this administration decided green is bad. We saw the American farmer left behind during the Reagan years, and yet the impact of those difficult times seems to have faded from Congress’ collective memory.
太多农场的作物因缺乏采摘工而无法收获。太多曾接受联邦补贴安装风能和太阳能设施的农民，如今因本届政府认为“绿色不好”而背负了数万美元的债务。
我们曾看到里根时期美国农民被抛在后面，但那些艰难时刻的影响似乎已经从国会的集体记忆中淡化。如今愿意从事艰苦、耗尽精力的农活的人和家庭寥寥无几。
There aren’t many people or families left who are willing to do the back-breaking, all-consuming work that running a farm entails.
我不是农民。但当我咬下一颗来自佐治亚州的多汁桃子、密歇根州的脆苹果或佛罗里达州的成熟草莓时，我很容易对他们产生敬佩之情。我认为是时候让美国的保守派农民终于明白：国会中的共和党人并不真正为他们的最佳利益着想——并且用他们的选票告诉他们这一点。凯瑟琳·巴克尔 密歇根州普利茅斯《农民在特朗普时期面临的挑战远不止燃油成本上升》 MS NOW
I am not a farmer. But it’s easy to admire them when I bite into a juicy peach from Georgia, a crisp apple from Michigan or a ripe strawberry from Florida. I think it’s time for the conservative farmers of America to finally understand that Republicans in Congress do not have their best interests at heart — and to tell them so with their vote. Catherine Barker Plymouth, Michigan The post Farmers face more challenges than rising fuel costs under Trump MS NOW