Former ag leaders: Farming in crisis due to Trump policies

A bipartisan group of former leaders of America’s major agricultural commodity associations and biofuels organizations, farmer leaders, and former senior USDA officials sent congressional ag leaders a letter today charging that Trump administration policies “have harmed the farm economy” and urging Congress to take a series of actions to rein in the administration.

The letter is the subject of an article in The New York Times today.

The signatories include past presidents and CEOs of the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Pork Producers Council, National Barley Growers Association, National Milk Producers Federation, US Grains Council, and Renewable Fuels Association; past directors of the Illinois and Nebraska Departments of Agriculture; and other farm leaders and senior agricultural policy experts.

“The policies of this administration have caused tremendous harm to U.S. agriculture,” the letter states. “Farmer bankruptcies have doubled, barely half of all farms will be profitable this year, and the U.S. is running a historic agriculture trade deficit.”

The group’s concerns reflect a dramatic reversal from the record farm export surpluses and farm incomes experienced just a few years ago. According to the letter, U.S. whole soybean exports have fallen from 47% of world market share in 2018 to just 24.4% today — a 50% reduction — while Brazil has gained more than 20% market share during the same period.

“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,” the leaders wrote. “And when American farmers suffer, the entire rural economy is impacted — from schools, to churches, to main street businesses.”

The former agricultural executives identified multiple factors contributing to the crisis:

• Increased farm input costs driven by tariffs on fertilizer, farm chemicals and machinery parts;
• Loss of export markets due to trade wars and withdrawal from trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership;
• Weakening of international trade partnerships as traditional allies turn to other suppliers;
• Disruptions to agricultural labor supply affecting dairy, fruit and produce and meat processing;
• Massive cuts to USDA staffing and agricultural research funding;
• Reductions in foreign aid and domestic food programs.

“Farmers don’t want government handouts — they want markets,” the letter emphasizes. “They want world-class research so that they can compete. They want their families and communities to have affordable health care services.”

The group called on Congress to take immediate action with nine specific recommendations, including exempting all farm inputs from tariffs, passing legislation for E15 ethanol, passing Trade Promotion Authority, completing review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and passing a new farm bill and farm labor reform.