Tractor Supply Announces End of DEI, Climate Efforts After “Disappointing” Customers

NEW YORK (AP/WNCN) — Tractor Supply is ending a series of diversity and climate efforts at the company, a move that comes after weeks of conservative backlash online against the rural retailer.

Tractor Supply, which has 2,250 stores, announced it would eliminate all of its diversity, equity and inclusion-related positions while abandoning its current DEI goals. The company, which has 50 stores in North Carolina, did not specify what the elimination of DEI-related positions entailed.

The 85-year-old company added that it would “cease sponsorship of non-commercial activities” such as Pride festivals or get-out-the-vote campaigns – and would no longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ rights group in the United States.

“We work hard to live up to our mission and values ​​every day and to represent the values ​​of the communities and customers we serve,” Tractor Supply said in a statement Thursday.

The Brentwood, Tenn.-based retailer, which sells products ranging from agricultural equipment to pet supplies, also said in a statement that it would step back from its carbon emissions targets and instead “focus on our land and water conservation efforts.”

These changes mark a sea change in the policy and messaging of Tractor Supply, which once touted its diversity and inclusion efforts. Earlier this month, Tractor Supply Chairman and CEO Hal Lawton said the company has remained “very consistent” in how it approaches its own DEI and ESG (environmental, social and governance) programs. ) for several years.

“(We’ve) just been very consistent in our efforts in this regard,” Lawton said in a June 5 interview with The Associated Press, pointing to the company’s Web pages that he said reinforced and reported on those efforts. “We haven’t backed down from anything.”

Thursday’s decision comes amid a broader backdrop of conservative backlash and litigation that has targeted companies across industries and a wide range of diversity initiatives, including scholarships, hiring goals, anti-bias training and contracting programs for minority- and women-owned businesses.

Legal attacks on companies’ diversity and inclusion efforts have particularly increased since June of last year, when the Supreme Court ruled to end affirmative action in college admissions. Many conservative and anti-DEI activists have sought to set a similar precedent in the workplace.

Beyond the courts, some companies and brands – from Bud Light to Target – have been hit by online campaigns calling for boycotts.

Meanwhile, other corporations and law firms have quietly changed their diversity programs, a stark contrast to Tractor Supply’s very public announcement Thursday. In its statement, Tractor Supply said it had “heard from customers that we disappointed them” and “took that feedback to heart.”

“We will continue to listen to our customers and team members,” added Tractor Supply.

A statement released by the 2,250-store company says it has spent millions of dollars on veterans’ causes, animal shelters, state fairs, rodeos and farmers’ markets.

“We are also invested in the future of rural America. We are the largest supporter of Future Farmers of America and have a long-standing relationship with 4-H,” a company statement read in part.

“Your trust in us is of the utmost importance, and we do not take this lightly. »

A Tractor Supply spokesman declined to provide further comment Friday.

This week’s decision comes after the company faced widespread backlash online from conservative activists and far-right accounts on social media, including the notorious far-right account known as Libs of TikTok.

The backlash against Tractor Supply began to mount earlier this month. In a June 6 post on the social media platform X, conservative political commentator and filmmaker Robby Starbuck told his followers to “start buying what you can elsewhere until Tractor Supply makes REAL changes and shows that they respect the majority of their customers enough to not spend the money we donate to them on causes we deeply oppose.”

Starbuck and other conservative social media users continued to criticize Tractor Supply in the weeks that followed — and celebrated the company’s Thursday news.

Others, on the contrary, expressed disappointment at Tractor Supply’s announcement. Some believe the company is giving in to hate and hurting its customers by abandoning crucial principles. Many users on social media have also vowed to shop elsewhere.

Eric Bloem, vice president of programs and corporate advocacy at the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that Tractor Supply is “turning its back on its own neighbors with this short-sighted decision.” The organization has worked with Tractor Supply to create inclusive policies and practices for years, he added.

“LGBTQ+ people live in every zip code in this country, including rural communities. We are consumers, farmers, veterans, and agricultural students,” Bloem said. “Giving in to far-right extremists will only hurt the people these businesses rely on.”