NEW YORK (AP) – The National Association of Black Farmers called on the president and CEO of Tractor Supply on Tuesday to step down after the rural retailer announced it would cut most of its corporate diversity and climate advocacy efforts. .
The resignation call comes as Tractor Supply, which sells products ranging from farm equipment to pet supplies, faces a backlash over its decision, which itself came after conservative activists spoke out against the company’s work on to be more socially inclusive and to curb climate change.
In a public announcement last week, the company said it would eliminate all of its diversity, equality and inclusion roles, end sponsorship of “non-business activities” such as Pride festivals, and withdraw the aims of its for reducing carbon emissions. Critics of the new position argue that Tractor Supply is giving in to hate and harming its customers by abandoning core principles.
“I was appalled by the decision,” John Boyd Jr., president and founder of the National Black Farmers Association, said in an interview. “I see this as turning back the clock on race relations — because the country is so racially divided, especially in rural America.”
Tractor Supply declined to comment further when reached Tuesday.
Tractor Supply, which is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, operates over 2,200 stores throughout the United States, most of them located in rural areas. The retailer’s primary customer base consists of shoppers who need farm and ranch products, such as livestock feed, truck supplies, tools and outdoor equipment.
Boyd said Tractor Supply stores can be found where most of the NBFA’s 130,000 members are located. Like other farmers, he said black farmers have bought into the chain for years. Boyd, who is also a Tractor Supply shareholder, estimated he has personally spent more than $10,000 at his local store since January alone — buying supplies like fence wire and feed for his cattle and horses in Virginia.
Before the company’s announcement, conservative activists opposed to DEI’s efforts, sponsorship of LGBTQ+ events and climate protection had spent weeks criticizing Tractor Supply on social media. Tractor Supply said in its statement Thursday that it was making the changes after hearing from disappointed customers and taking “this feedback to heart.”
The decision marked a significant shift in messaging from Tractor Supply, which once promoted its diversity and inclusion efforts. In recent years, the company has tried to broaden its appeal to younger consumers — including the former urban dwellers it now risks alienating.
“We will continue to listen to our customers and team members. Your trust and confidence in us is of the utmost importance and we do not take that lightly,” the company said.
The NBFA said it made repeated attempts to discuss its concerns with Tractor Supply President and CEO Hal Lawton before asking for his resignation.
“He’s gone too far — and we need to let him know that we’re not going to sit back and put up with this mess any longer,” Boyd said, adding that the organization may consider calling for a boycott of Tractor Supply if nothing changes in the future. day. “We’re tired of (being) mistreated by the government and Fortune 500 companies. … Black farmers are going to start fighting back. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Some customers have already decided to take their business elsewhere, including Squirrelwood Equine Sanctuary, a New York animal sanctuary that says it spends more than $65,000 a year on cattle feed and other supplies at Tractor Supply.
Squirrelwood co-founder Beth Hyman said she first heard about the company’s decision when sanctuary supporters reached out to ask if the group planned to make a statement about it. She thought about it for a day and then went to her local store to ask a manager she’s worked with for years about the announcement.
Hyman, who is gay, said she told the manager the sanctuary could no longer support Tractor Supply if its notice reflected his beliefs. Sanctuary also posted her take on X, where the post has received 31,000 likes.
“It’s astounding to me that a company would essentially submit to a hate campaign,” Hyman said. “Now they have just another boycott on their hands. We didn’t call for it, but obviously people are.”
Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, said the conservative pressure on Tractor Supply and the fallout from the delivery was “the perfect example of how the growing divide in the country – politically and ideologically – has made it really difficult to drive the consumer. -opposite businesses.”
“No matter which way you go about this, you’re going to piss off huge chunks of customers,” he said.
Consumers of all backgrounds are becoming more influenced by social media and choosing to redirect their spending if they feel companies don’t align with their values, Adamson said. In the case of Tractor Supply, whose business is tied to rural communities, the anti-DEI activism put the retailer in a “really tricky” situation where it had to do something to stop a potential exodus, it said. he.
“No company wants to be a target of negativity on social media,” Adamson said. “It’s a no-win situation.”
Tractor Supply’s reversal follows boycott campaigns against Bud Light and Target last year over their LGBTQ+ marketing. Target decided not to carry Pride Month merchandise in all of its stores this June after last year’s backlash.
Legal attacks against companies’ diversity and inclusion efforts have also gained more attention after the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to end affirmative action in college admissions. Many conservative and anti-DEI activists have sought to set a similar precedent in the world of work.
A handful of other organizations and Tractor Supply patrons have also expressed disappointment or anger at the company’s latest announcement — which included plans to no longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest group of advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights in the US
Eric Bloem, vice president of corporate programs and advocacy at the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement last week that Tractor Supply is “turning its back on their neighbors with this short-sighted decision.” The organization had worked with Tractor Supply to create comprehensive policies and practices for years, he added.
But Boyd, of the National Black Farmers Association, said that despite years of efforts by the NBFA, Tractor Supply did not consult with the group about past diversity and inclusion goals or attend the organization’s conferences. The company recently invited NBFA to apply to be a Tractor Supply company foundation partner, but the organization learned on June 26 — the day before Tractor Supply announced its DEI and climate goals — that it was not among the selected groups. , he said.