Let's talk about Ag leaders warning of a Trump induced farm crisis.... - Belle of the Ranch

[TexasTowelie]

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about ag leaders warning of a Trump induced farm crisis.

A bipartisan group of commodity organization chiefs, farm leaders, and former USDA officials sent Congress a letter. The letter is pretty scathing in its review of Trump's policies and warns of the “collapse of American agriculture.” Before we get into the content of the letter, I want to kind of highlight the broad cross-section of the agriculture industry that signed on to it. You have former presidents or chairs of the National Corn Growers Association, National Barley Growers Association, American Soybean Association, Renewable Fuels Association, National Pork Producers Council, National Milk Producers Federation, US Grains Council, Farm Foundation, the Illinois Farm Bureau, and there's a whole other page, but I think you get the point. This isn't just one crop or one association. This is American agriculture.

So, what's the letter say, you may ask? I think the most direct part is, "The policies of this administration have caused tremendous harm to US agriculture." I know I point out pretty often that not all of agriculture is Republican, but I will admit it's most. So, what's responsible for this pretty dramatic shift?

After pointing out that farmer bankruptcies have doubled, barely half of all farms will be profitable this year, the letter goes on to list the impacts and the blame. “There are few tragedies greater than the loss of a family farm, representing not just a loss of livelihood, but a loss of a way of life for rural families. And when American farmers suffer, the entire rural economy is impacted from schools to churches to main street businesses. We need to honestly acknowledge these impacts to rural America and engage in serious deliberations with the farm community to develop real long-term solutions.”

The reasons for the dramatic turnaround are complex, but it is clear that the current administration's actions along with congressional inaction have increased costs for farm inputs, disrupted overseas and domestic markets, denied agriculture its reliable labor pool, and defunded critical a research and staffing.

People will often make fun of farmers for not being educated, and it's not really a true stereotype. But do you know what every farmer understands? Cause and effect, increased inputs, tariffs. Disrupted markets, tariffs. Disrupted labor, ICE. Defunded ag research, DOGE, and Trump's other cuts.

The letter also has a list of things that they want Congress to do. Some of it is wish list stuff that ag always wants and some of it is directly asking Congress to reign in Trump. I think the biggest ask is “repeal tariffs that are disrupting agriculture export markets.” They're asking Congress to include Republicans in Congress to buck Trump and repeal his flagship policy.

Outside of the ag industry in Congress, I don't expect this letter to get much traction, but there's something I want to point out. We've talked about how Democrats need four of the six tossup Senate seats held by Republicans. Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas are all big ag states that are toss-ups. If Republicans ignore this, they do so while risking their majority.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.