Prior to the holidays, Chuck Conner, head of the National Council of Farmer Co­­operatives, found himself in a strange place — on stage at a farm policy conference sitting between two of agriculture’s biggest op­­ponents: the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Heritage Foundation.

Unsurprisingly, demands were made to rip holes in the farm safety net and mandate new government regulations. It was an uncomfortable spot for an aggie, indeed, but Conner defended agriculture fiercely and effectively against attack.

“Farmers and ranchers and the people of rural America, believe me,...