Page 6 - Jul-Aug 2024 - Reporter

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

MIXING BUSINESS WITH

POLITICS?

TREVOR SMALL
LBMAO President

hey say you should never mix politics, religion, and business. Demark, dairy farmers face a $96 per cow tax for the planet-
TI have always thought that was good advice when running heating emissions they create. Carbon taxes have added to
a business. Recent experience has had several successful the fuel bills for corn, wheat, and bean farmers as they pay
companies who forgot that adage and tried to mix business with additional taxes on fuel, fertilizer and on the gas that is used in
politics. drying their crops.
The most recent example is TSC in the United States. Tractor TSC got too far away from their customers and the customers
Supply Company has 2,250 locations in the US as of June 2024. told them. I believe that had they looked and understood their
They are in rural areas. A great deal of their customers are customers, they would have promoted the fact that they are a
farmers or ranchers located in areas which would be termed large sponsor of the future farmers program and 4-H programs
"red states" (states that typically vote Republican and act in in the US. Customers began to think that TSC was too “woke” for
a conservative manner and hold conservative views). At the them.
end of June, TSC announced that they are ending an array of Budweiser, with their Bud Light brand, also had huge issues
corporate diversity and climate efforts. This change comes after of mixing politics and business when they collaborated with
weeks of backlash against the retailer. Many of their customers transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney on social media. This led
had started online petitions against the company, threatening to product boycotts of Bud Light, and it had a huge effect, taking
boycotts of TSC due to their political positions. Bud Light down from the top beer brand in sales. Sales have
TSC has announced that they will eliminate its Diversity, been down 28% year over year. This cost Bud Light billions in
Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) roles within their offices, withdraw lost sales.
its carbon emission goals and would stop submitting data to the Both these situations have a similar theme. They forgot
Human Rights Campaign. who their customers were and what made those customers
This is a dramatic reversal for TSC as previously it had purchase their product. The lesson to be learned is that your
announced goals relating to climate change. This is where TSC customers want to know that you as a retailer or supplier have
found most of its backlash. Many of its core consumers felt that their interests at heart. When you introduce a political agenda,
the climate change goals were directly aimed at reducing the no matter how important or noble you believe it to be, you
output and productivity of farmers. run the risk of alienating a large group of your customers. The
While we all recognize the need to be a culturally diverse adage that you shouldn’t mix politics and business is important
and attentive to the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) we must to remember. If you want to deal with politics, put a sign on
make sure that as retailers and suppliers we don’t make policies your lawn during the next election. Half the people will love
that our customers see as working against them. Cattle farmers you and half will disagree, but your business will be spared the
are very unhappy with those who want to tax the methane controversy.
production of cattle as they are planning to do in Denmark. In

6 LBMAO Reporter - July-August 2024 www.lbmao.on.ca