FARMING IS PLANNING
When you farm, you have to work in the present but think in the future.
Most farmers take out loans in the winter. The money is used for seeds, fertilizer and equipment before planting in the spring. Farmers pay back the loan in the fall after they harvest and sell their crops. They raise calves hoping to sell them years later. Each calf or crop is a long-term bet.
Trump’s sudden and changing use of tariffs has caused chaos among the very folks who supported him. U.S. farmers have lost grain markets in China and Canada. They are storing crops they hope to sell. The costs of labor, seeds, fuel and fertilizer have gone up. Grain prices have gone down. There is talk of a new China deal, but nothing reliable yet.
Stress is also hitting families at home. The average family will pay $1,800 more each year for groceries, clothes, and other basic needs thanks to the administration’s trade policies. SNAP food assistance has been cut. Families worry how losing Affordable Care Act subsidies will affect their budget.
After the disaster he created, Trump made $12 billion available to American farms. The USDA has already paid out $8 billion with another $2 billion on the way. But the loss to farmers is estimated at $40 billion. Of course, the billions provided will go to the banks first to protect their investment. Trump gave $24 billion to farmers during his first four years. The aid is likely too little and too late to save the next planting season.
One farmer said “It is tough to run an operating note for 2026 on hopes and prayers,” Their bankers do not know when, or if, there will be government assistance. This makes plans even harder. Still, farmers must decide what to plant next year.
Congress may or may not pass a new farm bill. Rules on ethanol or sustainable aviation fuel could change and increase demand for corn and soybeans, but they may not.
For some farmers, government help is not just about buying fertilizer or replacing a broken-down combine, but about whether they can keep farming at all. Some farmers will have to make the decision to sell their farm while they still have equity and walk away, or take on more debt and hope that it will be better next year.
In the first half of 2025, there were 181 farm bankruptcies – almost as many as in all of 2024. How can farmers plan for the future when their leaders don’t?
[Published in local newspapers in Jan 2026 by Ben Boardmen and friends; shared on this website with permission. Email info@clarkdemocrats.org for more info about how to support BARN OWL in your local paper.]
