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Tractor Supply’s Boycott Backlash | Ambrook Research

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For more than six years, Joe Montello worked for Tractor Supply Co. in Ray Brook, New York. Once the owner of 32 chickens, four ducks, and two peacocks — along with some dogs and cats — Montello was a customer at the big box farm supply store long before he became general manager. He liked the job, and was heartened in 2021 when the company formally introduced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programming for employees, including a training module. As a gay man, Montello said, “It was really nice to see that they were making an effort.” Read Next Farming While Queer The Black Farmers Growing Rice Why Supermarket Monopolies Are Bad for the Farm Economy But in late June, Tractor Supply did an about-face, eliminating its DEI work in response to a campaign led by conservative influencer Robby Starbuck, who urged his hundreds of thousands of followers to lodge complaints and boycott Tractor Supply. Now the company, which has more than 2,200 locations nationwide, is facing backlash from

After caving to pressure and ditching its DEI initiatives, the agriculture chain is facing pressure from another segment of its customer base. For more than six years, Joe Montello worked for Tractor Supply Co. in Ray Brook, New York. Once the owner of 32 chickens, four ducks, and two peacocks — along with some dogs and cats — Montello was a customer at the big box farm supply store long before he became general manager. He liked the job, and was heartened in 2021 when the company formally introduced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programming for employees, including a training module.

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