I don’t think it’s under appreciated. I think economically it’s very well understood. Why? Because farm exports never recovered from the first time Trump was in office!
While the article rightly, at the top, calls out Trump’s first (and second) trade wars as the reason it cites a report from the USDA which of course blames China.
China has/had no obligation to help the US recover from its self-own. Farmers contributed to the cause by continuing to support Trump and the GOP in Congress.
If the US farmers recover it will clearly take a long time. A very long time.
There is no recovery. We are beyond that point. Private equity is buying those land for a fraction of the price and will continue to do so. I think that was the plan all along, lower the price so family and friends of the ultra rich buy everything. I might be wrong but sure feel like Trump administration love giving gifts to the richest.
This is also why Trump is so adamant about the Fed lowering interest rates. This will help the ultra rich borrow low to buy out American infrastructure (farming in this example) from the middle class.
Depends how leveraged they are. Farming is expensive af and a lot of farmers may own a piece of land but carry a lot of debt from buying it and the equipment needed to manage it
Depends on the crop but yeah. There’s a very real argument for subsidizing food production so we’re not dependent on foreign countries but a lot of the shit we subsidize is just political handouts, not real food
Farmers are a situation where things like "net worth" don't perfectly convey their circumstances. The land/equipment is bought and paid through loans typically, which of course fall over time, so their net assets/worth is normally pretty high - last year the median net worth was ~1.4M.
But they're not necessarily poor either - median income of a farmer is generally higher than the broad median household income - last year it was like 108k.
108k puts you around the 75th percentile for most prime earnings years income distributions. So I mean, better than the average, but 108k isn't really high income to anyone except kids who have no grasp of what money in the real world is.
>farmers aren’t middle class, they’re all at least single digit millionaires.
I guess that depends on where you're drawing lines, but the 75th percentile of a 55-59 year old's net worth is 1.1MM, for 60 and up the 75th percentiles is 1.2MM.
Basically the median farmer would sit around the 80th percentile of net worth and 75th of income, certainly not poor, not really "rich" by most common definitions. I'd guess most people would slot that as upper middle if you're using net worth, but that's up for anyone's interpretation - terms like middle class tend to vary wildly depending on who you ask.
I would also point out that the "farmer" frequently has multiple laborers who make less working for them. Do we draw the line for farmer at the guy whose name is on the deed or the wife and 4+ family members who help with the harvest and other labor intensive parts of the process?
I grew up across the road from a farm. Land was split between 4-6 family members and in good years they made a profit but most years were break even. I suppose they were all millionaires if they sold the land but if they don't I suspect they were living a much lower class lifestyle than a normal millionaire. They all had very modest homes spread around the farm. They had a few old pieces of still working farm equipment that was likely paid for and then several newer pieces that had a mountain of debt attached. They had several fields with central pivot irrigation and I'm sure that is expensive.
Think a about it. Their net worth is usually land and equipment. On paper they are millionaires. If they sell the land and keep the equipment they have to keep making payments. If they sell the equipment it's probably at a significant loss. I wouldn't call them poor, but more like trapped in their position. Unless they have a kid take over the farm eventually that trapped position has to be unwound and will likely not be as profitable an exit as the paper net worth suggests.
End of the day I don't envy them for the stress, long hours, and scramble to keep old equipment running. I do envy the peace, tranquility, and quiet moments they sometimes get on isolated bits of the farm.
No, you’re correct. That was the plan. Check p2025.
And it’s why Trump loves stupid people, like farmers, because if they were smart enough to know that 30% of their product was bought by USAID they might not have spent their lives voting for candidates pledging to kill government spending.
Also voting for draconian immigration policies such that imprisoning and deporting migrant farm workers will make it much more difficult to find experience farm hands and pickers. Your whole business model relies on foreign labor to survive, so lets just make the whole country hostile to their presence. Like the lady who told someone that wanted $20/hour to work for her farm to get bent while simultaneously bitching that nobody wants to work anymore. Lady, people want to work, but they want a living wage. If your business only works if you pay substandard wages, then you do not have a viable business.
They chose racism, sexism, xenophobia and anti trans/gay culture wars over their own survival. I don’t feel bad at all that a lot of them are going to get their farms taken from under them. Actions have consequences and for nearly a century Americans like those MAGA farmers were living like their actions didn’t have repercussions.
Seems pretty obvious to me. They got conned by the master of conmen. We city people warned them. They responded by calling us unpatriotic and worse. Oh well. Nothing I can do now.
This is the point. Private equity Is the friend of Trump. Especially vulture capital. We need to tax every farm bought up by the failure of the Trump admin. Anyone who gave him a favor or gave him a bribe needs to be punished with extreme taxes. So when the next Trump comes around they won’t do it out of fear of loosing everything
For what it’s worth, I don’t disagree with the intent, but farmland values aren’t depreciating. Of course it depends on the geography, but at worst values seem to have leveled off for now if not still slightly increasing.
> If the US farmers recover it will clearly take a long time. A very long time.
It's unlikely to fully recover, at least not in the way that it was. A major factor is Trump's terms being separated such that he'll be a force in trade for a total of 12 years once it's all said and done.
It takes time for trade relationships and capacities to change - but for instance China used to buy about equal amounts of soybeans from Brazil and the US - about 30-33MM tons each (2016 figures). in 2025 they bought 50MM tons from Brazil and ~12MM from the US.
This doesn't happen overnight, Brazil needed to build the farming infrastructure and capacity to take the US's place here. But, since we've been pulling this bullshit for years now they were able to do that, and now China has no reason to shift more demand to the US, ever.
I think USAID also used to buy crap tons of agricultural (leftover?) products to hand out to poorer nations. Farmers really are the biggest leopards ate my face people...
For me at least, it feels less like a ‘scorpion and frog’ situation, where I should sympathize with the short-sighted farmers and more like a consequence of the GOP to MAGA shift.
The old school GOP did give a lot to farmers, and farmers did a lot for them in return. Now, with MAGA things have shifted from crony capitalism to full oligarchy. Now those small town schemes have gone global. Interest shifted to billionaires, Russian wedding contributors, Qatari gifts, cash to Israel so they can spend it in GOP lobbying etc.
The game has shifted and farmers that are not owned by big corp get to realize they were used and now getting sold.
how uneducated are these farmers? they vote for donald who destroys their livilihoods. they vote for agricultural handouts while simultaneously decrying the evils of government subsidies
Do not underestimate the degree of ignorance and delusion (neither have to do with education) a person will put themselves through to vote against their own interest. When I was in healthcare I talked to patients in rural areas who had 1 option 10s of miles away and they’d actively vote against expanding healthcare usually for “reasons.”
That was just for routine PCP care. Not even vaccines.
Which, I live in an extremely poor, rural areas, taxes are ALREADY rock bottom, which is why infrastructure ends up dilapitated. Like, my parents pay $400/year in property taxes. Not month, per year. I think I pay around $2k, but my friend who lives in an actual upkept area down near DC pays nearly $10k/year. Not saying corruption isn't a problem, but like, you gotta pay for public use stuff.
How many safer red senate seats are really at play. How many House seats. If a Dem did something that slightly hurt Dem strongholds they’d never get another vote. Yet the tsunami coming this fall is 30 House seats. It should be 130
I don't think uneducated is the issue. They're just role-playing. "Oh, I'm a farmer, this is how I live and this is how I vote!" Even if they do very little farm work themselves, even if they aren’t actually operating their farm like a business. They call it their lifestyle but they don't treat it seriously, it's actually a role playing game for them, one that tax subsidies fund. And in the end, because it isn't real, they don't treat it like it is. They play the role. And one thing the role calls for, is lots of "woe-is-me, help me!".
And yeah, I don’t doubt they are losing money now. Everyone is, well...except the stock market and oil companies. MAGA!
"Farm to Tabor" has a great video about that. She says they are basically the American "landed gentry". Being large property owners, they look down on city dwellers much as traditional gentry of the past.
They are used to receiving things. First, the land they farm was originally seized from others by violence. They received the roads to market. They received subsidies. They received guaranteed purchases. They received discount insurance.
Because they are the landed gentry, they identify not with the workers who do the bulk of the work, but with the wealthy living in palaces. They pay workers what they believe is a fair wage, so why should they pay taxes so those same workers have access to the same privileges the gentry enjoy? Like Healthcare or good schools?
> First, the land they farm was originally seized from others by violence.
That's pretty weak. By that standard, the land that everyone lives on has been seized by violence.
Honestly, I think the 'gentry' explanation is a little overwrought. I think their self-image is generally purely a homestead/Old West construction, and all the subsidies that have crept in since the New Deal aren't really examined. There might be a certain kind of similarity between 'Yellowstone' and 'Downton Abbey', but the self-images are distinct.
And to think they thrived under democratic administrations for decades. Then Fox entered the picture and our country changed drastically. America has never been the same since Reaganism. He kicked us off a high cliff.
When I was in school, kids would tell me I was stupid for reading books because smart people were farmers or truck drivers and didn't need to read books.
So yeah, very uneducated. Generational ignorance at work here. Those kids didn't make that up, their parents and grandparents made it clear that book learning was a bad thing. The old guy I used to take care of would say 'Well I didn't go to college like you did but I think *insert some stupid, wrong thing*!'
It's perfectly fine to wonder about the individual farmers and their traits, but one of the facts about this situation is that they've been subjected to an intense and rather focused propaganda effort for the last several decades.
I disagree, this is very underappreciated. The US had an agricultural overcapacity problem and it's the Great Trump who solved it. Have farmers thanked President Trump yet?? We want China to address their own overcapacity problem and the US under Mr. Trump is leading by example, this is truly a sign of return to greatness.
China understands very well the phrase - “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake”
There were a lot of adults in the room during the first time saying it was a bad idea to start trade wars. Those people were replaced with psychopaths the second time. The US will not recover in the Millennial generation’s timeline.
Pretty soon domestic sales will shrink, as people can't afford to buy food. Diesel is about to really go through the roof. Then there's the whole potash thing. How about having to pay workers more, as the cheap migrant labour has been deported?
As out of pocket costs for farmers also rise, as they have to buy things, so many of which are tariffed and cost more as that tax is passed on to consumers.
I think there is more economic woe coming to the agriculture industry, we've only tickled the tip so far.
They won't. This is by design. It's causing all the small mom and pop farmers to sell out to corporate agriculture. It's the game Republicans play, and the MAGA cult falls for it every time.
Once the price was similar it made way more sense for China to buy from Brazil/etc and build relationships in those countries. Brazil gets a bigger market and growth. China has better leverage vs the US. Both nations normalize ties and expand economic cooperation in ways that may prevent antagonistic policy (like conflict) between them. And continue to make China the preferred "peaceful" factory for the world.
China will continue to sell the US whatever they will buy. But China doesn't need to do the same from the US.
Assuming the rosiest possible outcome, this generation of farmers will not recover. The soybean export market shift to Brazil is showing us that there is no market recovery as it was, US ag markets are going to have to become something new.
So you just retort with ad hominem attacks. Not too surprising, that's usually what people do when they can't defend their argument. If you actually cared to make your point, you would show me articles about tariffs in relation to crops. But you didn't. No need to harass me, it detracts from the argument.
Learning to accept documented facts and not being a Lib cultist troll unconditionally sucking Biden's dick is a skill you should work on if you want people to take you seriously.
Also some women in military leadership roles were pushed out, that's gotta earn a few brownie points with the "make America go back to 1950" enthusiasts. If we have to destroy our economy and all our global alliances, small price to be pay right??!
And they did it! They kept the trans kid in the closet until they're 19 or 20, have moved to a big coastal city, and will never speak to their family again!
Not only violently enforcing bigotry, but also executing Americans who oppose bigotry in the streets in broad daylight. With a mostly secret paramilitary force that has no transparency or oversight and seems to be immune from any responsibility for their actions.
I don’t know, but there’s this woman farmer who’s been yelling at the clouds on Tik tok about how she’s more mad at the libs for asking who she voted for. So in spite, she says she’d rather vote for this again than for people who have no empathy for her. You literally can’t make this shit up.
Because they need to protect the sanctity of women's sports by kicking out the two trans people in the country so they can go back to making fun of women's sports.
Rural midwest- 60-80% of republican voters could give a shit what actually happens in the white house as long as the people they dont like are being harmed as well (perceived or otherwise).
Next step is to eliminate the federal minimum wage & child labor laws. Them fields ain't gonna work themselves. If they somehow win the midterms we might as well just get to the Mad Max part of this time line.
Not that I am for Trump but it’s because the other side says it’s never been better and that you’re wrong if you think otherwise. People would rather reckless change than no change because at least then there’s potential for circumstances to change.
I think that’s fair but I have a bit of empathy (and for what it’s worth I’m Canadian.) Things aren’t going to change unless you make changes and while I wouldn’t say Trumps election is positive, I’d say the emergence of the Democratic Socialists seem like a silver lining as, from my perspective, it seems to align more with current American sensibilities - taking money out of politics, taxing billionaires, holding officials to account, spending money in communities, etc.
To be fair, the democrats have repeatedly tried to improve conditions in rural America, but they continuously get attacked for it. There is no rational discussion about the issues, these people are voting to support what is basically a lifestyle ideology rather than politics or economics.
No I’m with you. I get the Democratic strategy of placing major projects in red states but at a certain point when your tactics aren’t working when do you change them?
I think the other thing that kind gets understated is where the changes from 2020 to 2024 were. It was places like Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin. So to pretend like it’s dumb farmers who caused Trump 2.0 is misguided - it’s people in Ex-urbs, and rural areas that rightly feel that they are being left behind. Like even if Nebraska flipped how many votes is it worth like 5?
When Biden was up for reelection and approval was dipping it was the democrats chance and responsibility to say “we hear you and this is how we plan to address it.” Instead when asked directly what Kamala would do differently than Biden she said I’m not sure. Then when she lost she did an ‘I told you so’ instead of taking ownership that ‘it’s her job to convince voters’ and not assume that ‘they are owed’.
Again I don’t defend these people but I am at least empathetic. I think that there’s some blindness of the difference between values and financial incentive. And by and large I think people respond more to the latter.
I think for a lot of voters they saw and voted for lower costs via lower taxes (especially the business class - execs, business owners,etc.) Obviously that money had to come from somewhere and it ended up biting them in the ass.
But given a choice between your life getting $5,000 more expensive and something that goes against your beliefs (say all government employees need to state their sexuality and religion), I think a lot of people will take affordability and it’s not that they don’t hold to their beliefs, it’s just that for a lot of people there isn’t that much of a buffer between how much they can metaphorically spend on their beliefs.
That’s why you see a lot of smart socially liberal people work for defence contractors, big tech or other organizations known to be harmful. Or people with no other options joining the military or becoming ICE officers.
I think it’s a bit of a tricky probably and the way you fix it, is by raising the floor so people can afford to live true to their beliefs.
I’m with you but the Democratics aren’t offering anything meaningfully different and that’s the frustration.
It’s a similar issue in Canada where the 2 major parties aren’t meaningfully ideologically different enough so there’s no room for change, even though it may be what people want.
Fuck off. It’s the job of elected officials to represent their constituents do you feel like they’re doing that? Do you think the plethora of Americans want aid sent to Israel, the Epstein files postponed, and congress people able to make stock trades on insider information?
Is one side worse? absolutely. But they are both fundamentally failing to do their job. And you should be angrier not just at the Republicans but all the Democratics that are complicit in letting him get away with what he’s done.
The Graham Platner story is a testament to how fed up people are. They would rather support an ex-military, nepo baby, abusive alcoholic in his run, until it reached a breaking point, over a corrupt geriatric Susan Collins. You Americans deserve better.
I’m pretty sure this is a case of the leopard ate my face and it won’t stop until morale improves. Gotta love people who happily vote to outsource their jobs /businesses to Argentina / private equity
Nobody deserves this more than conservative farmers. I lived in Nebraska for about 5 years a decade ago and it was incredible how much the whole state was held back by morons out west in ranching and farming. They take handouts from everyone, push bad government (corn ethanol) policies on everyone, and then whine if you don't call them the epitome of US patriotism. They have actively destroyed this country via greed and ignorance and deserve to lose everything.
That's like farmers in Britain. Moaned about the CAP when in the EU but were the biggest recipients of EU funds. Now they are moaning they can't make a living
Brexit is such a slow burn leopards at my face narrative. Britain had a lot of issues before Brexit, but they're now approaching conditions where the average British person is worse off than the average Mississippian.
We can blame Russia for a lot of misinformation I’m sure, but can we blame them for voters being fucking idiots? It seems like at a certain point people need to take accountability for their votes.
I live in the south, and as long as they're hitting a tractor rap cliche of "supporting my family and working the land", and no one else is as tough as them because they wake up early.
The weird schadenfreude Americans have to shit on each other is really the primary reason this is happening and we all suffer for it.
Thirty downvotes for saying "nobody deserves this" - are you people so fucking dumb you don't realize you are suffering too? My god bruh, they are voting and they are winning, and you are suffering for it, and your answer is to just be happy that they are suffering ... ALONG WITH YOU?
Conservatives voted for the productive parts of the country to suffer. The welfare farmers in the flyover states are now feeling some of the pain they caused and lashing out. We tried to both warn and help them and they called us gay obama soros marxists. The only thing right wingers will ever understand is personal pain because their brain has been cooked by the church and other right wing lies.
Lamenting in other people's pain only serves to further drive political discourse towards unabashed tribalism, it's detrimental if your goal is to strive towards a future where everyone is better off.
Probably disengaging, delegitimizing, consolidating strength through groups with similar values, and creating separate institutions to act within. That would be my guess.
Certainly not devolving themselves to that same tier of nonsense groupthink.
Also, if you think that everyone who voted for Trump did so because of othering or attacking people you should get out more. America is a big place with a lot of really good people that get drawn in to a lot of mistaken ideas around what's best for everyone. You don't need to agree with them, but it's smart to better understand them - and thinking that everyone on the other politics team is just there to attack and be hateful shows a deep deep lack of understanding.
That saying about love conquering hate, yeah, that’s fake.
The Republican cult is so full of hate, they attacked the US Capitol building.
Do not fucking say us enjoying farmers going bankrupt and losing their farms is going to further divide us. The right wing cult is so divided, they don’t believe in objective FACTS.
Something major is gonna have to happen to get the right wing cult to wake up. If it’s our country being destroyed from within, so be it.
> Do not fucking say us enjoying farmers going bankrupt and losing their farms is going to further divide us.
I don't know how you could be so sucked in to a media bubble that you genuinely think this, but if you do it's rather useless to attempt a conversation around the topic.
Suffice to say it's really clear to me that there's a small but very vocal contingent of reddit that seems to sit around reading the ragebait coming out of a few media outlets and really takes that to heart.
I would advise actually getting out in the world and talking to people. You might be shocked that those who don't vote the way you do are often not doing that because they hate you, they're often just stuck in their own bubble.
They materially harmed the rest of us too with their stupidity, how do you expect us to react? Of course we're mad at them and glad they're feeling some part of the impacts of their actions.
I was talking to a farmer the other day, and he brought up how tough the year has been for farming. He was talking about the low sale price of crops and the high price of diesel the rising price of fertilizer. He said “he better get this figured out soon or it’s gonna be bad for everyone.” I assume he was referring to Trump and also that he has probably voted for Trump every time. I decided to go out in a limb and responded that at this point, it almost seems deliberate. To my surprise he just quietly said “yep…”
I hear more and more comments like that from hardcore Trumpers. The corruption is so blatant that it breaks through even with Fox News ignoring it. And Trump is so obsessed with ego projects like his arch, ballroom, Kennedy Center, etc. that he barely mentions things his voters actually care about. I hope that is reflected in the Midterm results.
The did own the libs though. Disappointment and dread is at all time high so they should feel proud about that! And isn't that really the only reason they elected a troll for potus? To troll the libs? Sure, the rest of the country and world are gonna suffer, but you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.
Also, I assumed most Republicans/Conservatives must be super privileged and crushing it financially. That's why the Mexican border and other people's genitals are their top issues, and not money in politics or our predatory healthcare system like mine. But I'm not super privileged like they are.
Yes, he has a habit of saying the quiet part out loud, doesn't he? It's almost like a lot of the inefficiencies in our nation's education system could and might be by design because Republicans, too, love the uneducated.
...and thanks to the destruction of USAID and the purging of SNAP beneficiaries, farmers can't even fall back on that to cushion the blow. It'll be instructional to see if they learned the political lesson or not.
I mean, I'm pretty sure we all already know the answer to that, but I would love to be proven wrong.
A few will, most won’t. I think there’s a chance for a material blip during midterms, but by next national election it will be mass amnesia and they will go back to overwhelmingly support the GOP presidential candidate and all downstream candidates.
The only outcome they care about is owning the libs. No matter how awful the GOP is to them, they sincerely believe the left would be worse.
While not “farmers”, I grew up in rural red state and while my family has started to crack on Trump, they still hate democrats with more passion than they demonstrate for anything else in life. It’s literally how they describe some people. They call them democrats as a slur.
That always shocks me. When someone asks what they like about trumps policies or administration, they IMMEDIATELY begin talking about Kamala Harris or Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton… it is never what they like about the administration. It’s what they abhor about democrats on a personal level. How the fuck…
Propaganda, my guy. That’s precisely how it is intended to work, and boy does it work. Turn what would ordinarily be a rational discussion into a visceral emotional response.
It's cult-like, at this point. They know who the problem is, but it's almost like it physically pains them to vote for anyone with a (D) behind their name. I would've thought they'd be a lot more concerned about their money than that, but I guess cults gonna cult.
If it pains them to vote for a democrat, they can stay home instead of voting. It accomplishes nearly the same thing and they can hold their head up high like they're still morally pure for not voting for one.
this is similar to the strategy that democrats have pursued at the national level since 2016 -
"we're not Trump" is the main message the DNC and presidential candidates in the last 2 elections have been pushing. The Republicans and Trump in particular have been more effective at branding and propaganda.
The Biden administration got some of the most meaningful legislation in several decades passed, but was absolutely terrible at communicating that to the voting public.
Well, at this point, there aren't very many people around who give a shit about them. The republican leaders don't. The democrat leaders don't. The non-rural voters don't. It's pretty much down to just themselves caring about themselves, and ironically, they mostly don't care about each other either.
Learn what? If democrats win they will bail the farmers once again. The only learned is the government will always bailout them out all they have to do is play the victim when the time is right.
People tend to forget that tariffs don’t just make our imports more expensive, they also make our exports more expensive for foreigners as well. So not only do tariffs reduce domestic consumption of what we can produce, but foreign consumption of it as well
Oh, we don;t make any here? Well, we will soon. Someone will start a machine factory any day now, I mean, how long could it take? Some guy is probably building one in his garage right now!
In all seriousness, these folk filed for divorce from reality years ago, and now that it's finalized there's almost no reaching them.
Beyond tariffs, the POTUS threatening Canada and Greenland’s sovereignty is bad for business. The only people who like those threats are the 70 million dumbest Americans while 7.5 billion people across the world are less likely to buy American products. Making AI shitposts about conquering other nations is hurting American profits and it’s embarrassing that the business and farming communities don’t see this and still support the toxic clown.
> People tend to forget that tariffs don’t just make our imports more expensive, they also make our exports more expensive for foreigners as well
They don't forget it; they genuinely believe it's not true. They think we're so special and powerful that all we have to do is look the other countries in the eye and say "NO!" and they'll just pay more for our stuff while selling us what we want at the same rates. That's literally what Trump told them and they believed. This is what happens when you spend 50 years indoctrinating kids with the idea "this is the greatest country in the world and was chosen by God."
Exactly. Other countries just don't sit back and let us tariff them. If we tariff them, they do the same, and so we export less. Overall global trade and GDP also drops. Also, inputs to produce domestically go up. There can be a case for tariffs if the country is just developing industry, but that doesn't apply to the U.S. Tariffs on Chinese cars won't make Ford and GM magically make better cars at lower costs because the legacy infrastructure they have is expensive.
It wasn't really a collapse of the farm industry. More of a systematic destruction of it per the playbook outlined in Project 2025. Just got to try to make sure that everything is owned by a dozen billionaires
The reason it's so underappreciated is because farmers, especially hardcore Republican ones, as we like to say here in the Midwest, wouldn't say shit, even if they had a mouthful of it. Well, they've got a mouthful of it now.
Collapse is too passive a word but I'm struggling to come up with one that conveys the stupidity and shortsightedness that got us here, while also capturing the fact that the economic victims brought this upon themselves. Petardation, maybe?
Farmers would rather be homeless than admit they were ever wrong on any individual opinion in their entire lives. I live in Americas farm capital, it might as well be 2015.
Having to sell the farm for pennies on the dollar to JD, Thiel and their Saudi Arabia investors is what their Trump vote gets them. By deporting all the brown workers they will be able to work the minimum wage jobs on their former farms
Have you noticed how many "poor me" farmer videos are out now? But not a single one of them would ever say, "I was wrong, and I'm changing my vote". They would rather go bankrupt worshipping their orange overlord
A couple things I noticed which weren't mentioned in this article...
1.) Fertilizer prices are going to skyrocket next year. This is also a result of the attack on Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
2.) There has been a widespread and historic drought across much of the USA. The wheat harvest in the USA was halved this year, and that was overwhelmingly due to drought. Other crops and breadbaskets around the world also suffered from extreme weather.
Those two factors alone would be devastating for farmers. But on top of higher diesel costs and an unhealthy export market... many families are outright losing their farms. Those farms will be bought up by huge multinational corporations.
And people are free to celebrate the hardships of ignorant and bigoted American farmers, but... this is going to be a disaster for all Americans. Beyond that, it's going to be a disaster for people around the world. The dismal harvests and higher shipping costs are going to cause widespread famine.
I'd also add that the current El Nino event is still not at its peak and next year is widely expected by climatologists to be the hottest year on record. The continuation of extreme weather events should not be expected to be benefit harvests.
Well if a bunch of republican voting farmers, rich from cheap immigration, vote again their own self interests, what the devil did they expect? Not a shock when you've been watching.
Is this a land play for corps to takeover more us farmland for data centers and corp owned farming? I imagine a savvy business person is. Using up land from farmers who have to sell to survive.
Where would we go to learn about it, to even be aware there was an agra issue? Our news services that represent the ppl’s interest are few and the networks that spew crap proliferate
The cronies want to buy it up so they are tanking it. They did the same thing roughly in the 50s I believe. Most of the dept of ag was ex ranking officers of the military
Are we talking about the collapse of farm exports during Trump's first administration or during his second? Because he fucked farmers both times, repeatedly, and they still rewarded him for it.
Farmers should be familiar with this concept since they are in the agriculture biz and mostly like to thump Bibles more than they read or practice the wisdom or heed the warnings of it but here is a refresher verse that should hit them right in the bread basket- "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." — Galatians 6:8. For those who only went to Church for the donuts and heady sense of self righteousness- This is what that verse means. Your choices (votes) have consequences. Your daily actions and choices are like planting seeds.
Sowing to the flesh means that if you live only for selfish, greedy, or sinful desires, your life will produce bad results and decay. Sowing to the Spiri means living to please God (Not the New American version Unempathic Supply Side Jesus) and help others through the Holy Spirit, your life will produce eternal life and goodness. You know, the old fashioned one that said love and care for the sick and hungry and don't mistreat the foreigner- but that is such an old fashioned word or notion, like groceries or silly concepts like affordability. They also claimed to be fiscal conservatives above all else. What did they think for the love of money is the root of all evil meant? You chose your wallet over your morals. You failed. You loved your money more than your neighbors. So, they are in the process of reaping the whirlwind and their fields will be salted with a flood of their own tears.
When an industry gets ravaged, the large conglomerates (who can absorb the losses) wait for the small and medium sized businesses to go out of business.
Then they just ... buy them out so they can expand. They are Trumps actual base, so, everything according to plan.
So after Trump started his trade war, Canadian flags instantly showed up in grocery stores.
There are American products on the shelves, but lots of people are still checking countries of origin and avoiding, when possible, good from the states.
Which is affecting farmers from red states who voted for Trump.
It's quite literally caused by tarriffs, specifically, other country's extremely predictable retaliatory tarriffs against Trump's tariffs. The answer about tariffs was figured out decades ago. It was well known that they just don't work the way Trump wants them to work.
Now, other stupid decisions by this admin have made it even worse. But tariffs and trade war have always been the culprit. And the discussion on those is really over. people either understand or they don't. Makes for an easy win for the next president to end the petty and unnecessary trade wars
Farmers got a welfare handout when Trump fucked them over in his first administration. They’re crying now bc they want their handout again. It’s not in “the news” bc Trump has an iron grip on the press. But social media is ripe with their crying. They’re ignorant hypocrites, and the rest of the country has no sympathy for them. They can just find their bootstraps and suffer in the meanwhile. That’s what they told all of the federal workers that Trump fired, right? That’s what they said to all poor people after Trump cut their health insurance snd snap benefits, right?
"Yeah, but the liberals and communism and Biden" the ignorant will repeatedly cry time and time again to justify the horrific actions of the current administration.
It is inconceivable that the political pro’s Trump had working for him didn’t know that his tariff policies would be devastating to farmers. He knew full well what would happen but he figured they would support him no matter what so don’t worry about it. What did he say about how he could shoot someone on 5th Ave and his fans would still support him. Didn’t W.C Fields say “Never give a sucker an even break”. Trump got it.
Because the Pubs and GOPers (which includes 80% of farming districts) though it'd be cool to have a tariff war let alone have a billion-dollar baby and his syncophant Big Balls cancel USAID which was the prime driver of a lot of crop exports too
How do y'all like your ethnic cleansing, Pubs? Was it worth losing your farm? I guess it was!
If globalism is over, it's because Republicans voted in an anti-globalist who wages trade wars against his closest trading partners (and an actual war against one of the world's largest oil exporters).
And farmers knew this since the pandemic because Trump was president then as well, and he'd similarly alienated China.
There hasn't been a globalist president elected in 30 years and there hasn't been a candidate on either side that was a globalist in the last 20.
Globalism is done.
China will be lucky to be a single country in the next 5 to 10 years and at the least their population will drop to 500,000,000 by 2050 because it still takes 20 years to make a 19 year old and they haven't even started yet. One Child Policy has created a demographic black hole that they are unlikely to recover from. If they don't end up in warlordism like they have every time for the last 2000 years then something worse will probably happen. All they have is Xi in office. He has killed or imprisoned all his rivals and he isn't listening to anyone let alone talking to anyone. His flunkies just try to predict what he wants and that is why they sent a spy balloon over the United States.
Without globalism the Chinese rise is done.
Without globalism the chip market is crippled.
If you aren't selling to the US, who actually has a navy that can protect their trade then you are likely to suffer serious interruptions to your business. They are even re-instating the "prize courts" so that privateers can seize illegal ships like the shadow fleet and sell the oil.
Globalism is over and there was absolutely no going back the moment Biden decided to weaponize the dollar against the Russians.
We live in interesting times and our children may not understand or enjoy the wonders of the world that were provided to us. It was always going to end.
No countries, not even the starving ones, wants American foods, grains etc.. for free, for nearly 30 years. Too many chemicals and plastics in American foods (making people sick or killing).
i have not studied agro-econs in any great lenght, but if we truly go all "Free market and free trade" on the farm industry, and let cheap foring food flood our market, would it reduce the cost of food enouph to justify just scrapping the farmer welfare state?
The US used to donate excess food crops that farmers were paid to grow. Farms going under and leaving fields fallow contributed to the dust bowl. Paying farmers to grow food to keep them in business.
The U.S. Agricultural sector is worth around $1.5 trillion. Direct farmer output is around $300 billion of that. If you include everything related to the ag. industry like transport, machinery, foodservice etc. we’re looking at more like $10 trillion.
The “farmer welfare state” doesn’t exist for the benefit of the consumer but for the benefit of the corporations. Our taxes aren’t subsidizing our grocery prices, they’re subsidizing the cost of operations for the agro-businesses.
I know it’s not all back and white so let’s not focus on semantics, but going all “free market and free trade” on the farm industry will in no way benefit the majority of society.
joepez | 8 hours ago
I don’t think it’s under appreciated. I think economically it’s very well understood. Why? Because farm exports never recovered from the first time Trump was in office!
While the article rightly, at the top, calls out Trump’s first (and second) trade wars as the reason it cites a report from the USDA which of course blames China.
China has/had no obligation to help the US recover from its self-own. Farmers contributed to the cause by continuing to support Trump and the GOP in Congress.
If the US farmers recover it will clearly take a long time. A very long time.
Courcotte | 8 hours ago
There is no recovery. We are beyond that point. Private equity is buying those land for a fraction of the price and will continue to do so. I think that was the plan all along, lower the price so family and friends of the ultra rich buy everything. I might be wrong but sure feel like Trump administration love giving gifts to the richest.
cporter1188 | 8 hours ago
This is also why Trump is so adamant about the Fed lowering interest rates. This will help the ultra rich borrow low to buy out American infrastructure (farming in this example) from the middle class.
ILKLU | 7 hours ago
☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻
bobandgeorge | 6 hours ago
Upvoting does the same thing as this comment.
ILKLU | 5 hours ago
Nope, mine adds emphasis too
Nemonoone67 | 5 hours ago
Nothing?
harrumphstan | 3 hours ago
One quibble: farmers aren’t middle class, they’re all at least single digit millionaires. It’s the ultra rich teabagging the barely rich.
GiraffesRBro94 | 3 hours ago
Depends how leveraged they are. Farming is expensive af and a lot of farmers may own a piece of land but carry a lot of debt from buying it and the equipment needed to manage it
requiemguy | 2 hours ago
While taking as much government welfare as possible.
GiraffesRBro94 | an hour ago
Depends on the crop but yeah. There’s a very real argument for subsidizing food production so we’re not dependent on foreign countries but a lot of the shit we subsidize is just political handouts, not real food
requiemguy | an hour ago
Corn subsides wouldn't exist if we used sugar cane instead for ethanol, no one would know what hfs is.
RIP_Soulja_Slim | 2 hours ago
Farmers are a situation where things like "net worth" don't perfectly convey their circumstances. The land/equipment is bought and paid through loans typically, which of course fall over time, so their net assets/worth is normally pretty high - last year the median net worth was ~1.4M.
But they're not necessarily poor either - median income of a farmer is generally higher than the broad median household income - last year it was like 108k.
108k puts you around the 75th percentile for most prime earnings years income distributions. So I mean, better than the average, but 108k isn't really high income to anyone except kids who have no grasp of what money in the real world is.
>farmers aren’t middle class, they’re all at least single digit millionaires.
I guess that depends on where you're drawing lines, but the 75th percentile of a 55-59 year old's net worth is 1.1MM, for 60 and up the 75th percentiles is 1.2MM.
Basically the median farmer would sit around the 80th percentile of net worth and 75th of income, certainly not poor, not really "rich" by most common definitions. I'd guess most people would slot that as upper middle if you're using net worth, but that's up for anyone's interpretation - terms like middle class tend to vary wildly depending on who you ask.
goodbodha | an hour ago
I would also point out that the "farmer" frequently has multiple laborers who make less working for them. Do we draw the line for farmer at the guy whose name is on the deed or the wife and 4+ family members who help with the harvest and other labor intensive parts of the process?
I grew up across the road from a farm. Land was split between 4-6 family members and in good years they made a profit but most years were break even. I suppose they were all millionaires if they sold the land but if they don't I suspect they were living a much lower class lifestyle than a normal millionaire. They all had very modest homes spread around the farm. They had a few old pieces of still working farm equipment that was likely paid for and then several newer pieces that had a mountain of debt attached. They had several fields with central pivot irrigation and I'm sure that is expensive.
Think a about it. Their net worth is usually land and equipment. On paper they are millionaires. If they sell the land and keep the equipment they have to keep making payments. If they sell the equipment it's probably at a significant loss. I wouldn't call them poor, but more like trapped in their position. Unless they have a kid take over the farm eventually that trapped position has to be unwound and will likely not be as profitable an exit as the paper net worth suggests.
End of the day I don't envy them for the stress, long hours, and scramble to keep old equipment running. I do envy the peace, tranquility, and quiet moments they sometimes get on isolated bits of the farm.
Relative_Average758 | 8 hours ago
No, you’re correct. That was the plan. Check p2025.
And it’s why Trump loves stupid people, like farmers, because if they were smart enough to know that 30% of their product was bought by USAID they might not have spent their lives voting for candidates pledging to kill government spending.
Maxamillion-X72 | 2 hours ago
Also voting for draconian immigration policies such that imprisoning and deporting migrant farm workers will make it much more difficult to find experience farm hands and pickers. Your whole business model relies on foreign labor to survive, so lets just make the whole country hostile to their presence. Like the lady who told someone that wanted $20/hour to work for her farm to get bent while simultaneously bitching that nobody wants to work anymore. Lady, people want to work, but they want a living wage. If your business only works if you pay substandard wages, then you do not have a viable business.
TreeInternational771 | 8 hours ago
They chose racism, sexism, xenophobia and anti trans/gay culture wars over their own survival. I don’t feel bad at all that a lot of them are going to get their farms taken from under them. Actions have consequences and for nearly a century Americans like those MAGA farmers were living like their actions didn’t have repercussions.
Its time America grows up
deltahat | 5 hours ago
It seems they’d rather own the libs than own their farm.
Any_Sale2030 | 3 hours ago
Seems pretty obvious to me. They got conned by the master of conmen. We city people warned them. They responded by calling us unpatriotic and worse. Oh well. Nothing I can do now.
savagefleurdelis23 | 2 hours ago
Can’t grow up without growing pains. Let them HURT. When actions have no consequences we get… maga.
PsychologicalBee1801 | 8 hours ago
This is the point. Private equity Is the friend of Trump. Especially vulture capital. We need to tax every farm bought up by the failure of the Trump admin. Anyone who gave him a favor or gave him a bribe needs to be punished with extreme taxes. So when the next Trump comes around they won’t do it out of fear of loosing everything
Accidental-Genius | an hour ago
The Farmers gave him their vote. Fuck em.
Substantial-Equal661 | 7 hours ago
This was the point all along.
slyck80 | 6 hours ago
JD Vance's AcreTrader investment is paying off.
selicos | an hour ago
Vance is/was a partner for a firm that sold US farm land to foreign investors.
This was always the plan.
AFewForLeftyToo | 5 hours ago
For what it’s worth, I don’t disagree with the intent, but farmland values aren’t depreciating. Of course it depends on the geography, but at worst values seem to have leveled off for now if not still slightly increasing.
RIP_Soulja_Slim | 8 hours ago
> If the US farmers recover it will clearly take a long time. A very long time.
It's unlikely to fully recover, at least not in the way that it was. A major factor is Trump's terms being separated such that he'll be a force in trade for a total of 12 years once it's all said and done.
It takes time for trade relationships and capacities to change - but for instance China used to buy about equal amounts of soybeans from Brazil and the US - about 30-33MM tons each (2016 figures). in 2025 they bought 50MM tons from Brazil and ~12MM from the US.
This doesn't happen overnight, Brazil needed to build the farming infrastructure and capacity to take the US's place here. But, since we've been pulling this bullshit for years now they were able to do that, and now China has no reason to shift more demand to the US, ever.
ApetteRiche | 8 hours ago
I think USAID also used to buy crap tons of agricultural (leftover?) products to hand out to poorer nations. Farmers really are the biggest leopards ate my face people...
ilikepizza2much | 6 hours ago
And the biggest welfare queens. They basically live off tax payer subsidies, and then turn around and vote republican
greenroom628 | 5 hours ago
they call themselves folks with "common sense."
they may be common, but they sure don't have any sense.
Magickarpet76 | 16 minutes ago
For me at least, it feels less like a ‘scorpion and frog’ situation, where I should sympathize with the short-sighted farmers and more like a consequence of the GOP to MAGA shift.
The old school GOP did give a lot to farmers, and farmers did a lot for them in return. Now, with MAGA things have shifted from crony capitalism to full oligarchy. Now those small town schemes have gone global. Interest shifted to billionaires, Russian wedding contributors, Qatari gifts, cash to Israel so they can spend it in GOP lobbying etc.
The game has shifted and farmers that are not owned by big corp get to realize they were used and now getting sold.
OddlyFactual1512 | 4 hours ago
They are higly regarded.
cothomps | 3 hours ago
Correct, and in all honesty the US taxpayer is propping up the commodity system anyway - so why not use it to do a little bit of good in this world?
turbo_dude | 4 hours ago
The rest of the world is not thinking “oh well Trump will be out soon and then we will trade with the US”
The rest of the world is thinking “that country is broken, Trump wasn’t a blip, diversify folks!”
Woodit | 8 hours ago
Maybe they can just end up working what used to be their own fields after selling them off to foreign ownership for minimum wage. Seems fair.
AnotherLie | 6 hours ago
Hope they enjoy growing alfalfa for the Saudis!
geomaster | 8 hours ago
how uneducated are these farmers? they vote for donald who destroys their livilihoods. they vote for agricultural handouts while simultaneously decrying the evils of government subsidies
joepez | 8 hours ago
Do not underestimate the degree of ignorance and delusion (neither have to do with education) a person will put themselves through to vote against their own interest. When I was in healthcare I talked to patients in rural areas who had 1 option 10s of miles away and they’d actively vote against expanding healthcare usually for “reasons.”
That was just for routine PCP care. Not even vaccines.
Dense-Pool-652 | 6 hours ago
Usually the reason I heard for stupidity like this was "muh TAXES gonna go up!".
JacuulTheSecond | 5 hours ago
Which, I live in an extremely poor, rural areas, taxes are ALREADY rock bottom, which is why infrastructure ends up dilapitated. Like, my parents pay $400/year in property taxes. Not month, per year. I think I pay around $2k, but my friend who lives in an actual upkept area down near DC pays nearly $10k/year. Not saying corruption isn't a problem, but like, you gotta pay for public use stuff.
PsychologicalBee1801 | 7 hours ago
How many safer red senate seats are really at play. How many House seats. If a Dem did something that slightly hurt Dem strongholds they’d never get another vote. Yet the tsunami coming this fall is 30 House seats. It should be 130
ICLazeru | 8 hours ago
I don't think uneducated is the issue. They're just role-playing. "Oh, I'm a farmer, this is how I live and this is how I vote!" Even if they do very little farm work themselves, even if they aren’t actually operating their farm like a business. They call it their lifestyle but they don't treat it seriously, it's actually a role playing game for them, one that tax subsidies fund. And in the end, because it isn't real, they don't treat it like it is. They play the role. And one thing the role calls for, is lots of "woe-is-me, help me!".
And yeah, I don’t doubt they are losing money now. Everyone is, well...except the stock market and oil companies. MAGA!
SurpriseEcstatic1761 | 5 hours ago
"Farm to Tabor" has a great video about that. She says they are basically the American "landed gentry". Being large property owners, they look down on city dwellers much as traditional gentry of the past.
They are used to receiving things. First, the land they farm was originally seized from others by violence. They received the roads to market. They received subsidies. They received guaranteed purchases. They received discount insurance.
Because they are the landed gentry, they identify not with the workers who do the bulk of the work, but with the wealthy living in palaces. They pay workers what they believe is a fair wage, so why should they pay taxes so those same workers have access to the same privileges the gentry enjoy? Like Healthcare or good schools?
sw04ca | 4 hours ago
> First, the land they farm was originally seized from others by violence.
That's pretty weak. By that standard, the land that everyone lives on has been seized by violence.
Honestly, I think the 'gentry' explanation is a little overwrought. I think their self-image is generally purely a homestead/Old West construction, and all the subsidies that have crept in since the New Deal aren't really examined. There might be a certain kind of similarity between 'Yellowstone' and 'Downton Abbey', but the self-images are distinct.
riverratriver | 8 hours ago
It’s more about how racist & how much bigotry they have that overrides everything else. Democrats = gay + foreigners to them
IntelligentStyle402 | 6 hours ago
And to think they thrived under democratic administrations for decades. Then Fox entered the picture and our country changed drastically. America has never been the same since Reaganism. He kicked us off a high cliff.
NoHorseNoMustache | 6 hours ago
When I was in school, kids would tell me I was stupid for reading books because smart people were farmers or truck drivers and didn't need to read books.
So yeah, very uneducated. Generational ignorance at work here. Those kids didn't make that up, their parents and grandparents made it clear that book learning was a bad thing. The old guy I used to take care of would say 'Well I didn't go to college like you did but I think *insert some stupid, wrong thing*!'
dust4ngel | 5 hours ago
> how uneducated are these farmers? they vote for donald who destroys their livilihoods
these are people who are voting to get into heaven - they don't care if they and their families starve to death on earth.
DymlingenRoede | 4 hours ago
Propaganda works.
It's perfectly fine to wonder about the individual farmers and their traits, but one of the facts about this situation is that they've been subjected to an intense and rather focused propaganda effort for the last several decades.
Mathfanforpresident | 6 hours ago
It won't recover because this was the plan. The trade wars we're started so they could bankrupt businesses and buy up the assets.
Painfully obvious to anyone who understand how unethical the wealth truly are.
i_reddit_too_mcuh | 4 hours ago
> I don’t think it’s under appreciated.
I disagree, this is very underappreciated. The US had an agricultural overcapacity problem and it's the Great Trump who solved it. Have farmers thanked President Trump yet?? We want China to address their own overcapacity problem and the US under Mr. Trump is leading by example, this is truly a sign of return to greatness.
A-Halfpound | 5 hours ago
China understands very well the phrase - “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake”
There were a lot of adults in the room during the first time saying it was a bad idea to start trade wars. Those people were replaced with psychopaths the second time. The US will not recover in the Millennial generation’s timeline.
lopix | 4 hours ago
Pretty soon domestic sales will shrink, as people can't afford to buy food. Diesel is about to really go through the roof. Then there's the whole potash thing. How about having to pay workers more, as the cheap migrant labour has been deported?
As out of pocket costs for farmers also rise, as they have to buy things, so many of which are tariffed and cost more as that tax is passed on to consumers.
I think there is more economic woe coming to the agriculture industry, we've only tickled the tip so far.
Any_Sale2030 | 3 hours ago
Yet rural Americans voted for Trump three times now. Sorry but it’s their problem. Not mine.
joepez | 54 minutes ago
Did you live in the US? If so it’s all of our problems.
chakan2 | 2 hours ago
> If the US farmers recover
They won't. This is by design. It's causing all the small mom and pop farmers to sell out to corporate agriculture. It's the game Republicans play, and the MAGA cult falls for it every time.
selicos | an hour ago
Once the price was similar it made way more sense for China to buy from Brazil/etc and build relationships in those countries. Brazil gets a bigger market and growth. China has better leverage vs the US. Both nations normalize ties and expand economic cooperation in ways that may prevent antagonistic policy (like conflict) between them. And continue to make China the preferred "peaceful" factory for the world.
China will continue to sell the US whatever they will buy. But China doesn't need to do the same from the US.
TeaKingMac | 4 hours ago
> Farm exports never recovered from the first time Trump was in office.
Article said that agricultural exports to China peaked in 2022
cothomps | 3 hours ago
Assuming the rosiest possible outcome, this generation of farmers will not recover. The soybean export market shift to Brazil is showing us that there is no market recovery as it was, US ag markets are going to have to become something new.
Accidental-Genius | an hour ago
They aren’t going to recover. We are fresh out of bailout cash.
Constant-Plant-9378 | 8 hours ago
It's worth noting that Biden actually retained most of the tariffs from Trump's first term.
So the failure of farm exports to recover is not 100% on Trump. Democrats were complicit.
Lucky_Dragonfruit_88 | 6 hours ago
Those tariffs are on steel, aluminum, and Chinese EVs though, so not related to farming at all.
Constant-Plant-9378 | 4 hours ago
> not related to farming at all
Never said they were.
usernameelmo | 4 hours ago
> Never said they were.
jfc
Lucky_Dragonfruit_88 | 4 hours ago
Then, how is your comment in any way relevant to the article?
Constant-Plant-9378 | 4 hours ago
It's called "TARIFFS".
If you are too stupid to see how tariff policy is relevant, regardless of special-interest industry, I can't help you.
Lucky_Dragonfruit_88 | 4 hours ago
So you just retort with ad hominem attacks. Not too surprising, that's usually what people do when they can't defend their argument. If you actually cared to make your point, you would show me articles about tariffs in relation to crops. But you didn't. No need to harass me, it detracts from the argument.
doyouthinkwecanfly | 3 hours ago
Learning to admit you're wrong and moving on with grace is difficult but it's a skill you should work on if you want people to take you seriously.
Constant-Plant-9378 | 32 minutes ago
Learning to accept documented facts and not being a Lib cultist troll unconditionally sucking Biden's dick is a skill you should work on if you want people to take you seriously.
RichardStrauss123 | 8 hours ago
If your goal was to completely destroy agriculture in the US, what steps would you take that trump hasn't already?
Destroy export markets? Check.
Hike diesel to $7 per gallon? Check.
Hike fertilizer costs? Check.
Deport reliable labor source? Check.
Why are they all voting for this guy?
BadHombre91 | 8 hours ago
Because he promised bigotry. And he’s come through on that for them
Paulinfresno | 8 hours ago
There’s a small town in Rural Kansas that no longer has to worry about the trans kid making the cross-country team, so all is well.
das_war_ein_Befehl | 7 hours ago
Same rural town probably has no person under 45
David_ungerer | 7 hours ago
The rural families kids flee to the cities (become libs) because of the Hate and Fear culture the Repugnant-Con(tm) are selling from the local church.
das_war_ein_Befehl | 6 hours ago
They flee cause there are no jobs or careers out there
-JackBack- | 6 hours ago
Capitalism for the win!
Vegetable-Brain-721 | 7 hours ago
that's not true! a trad wife streamer family just moved in down the road
Disco425 | 7 hours ago
Also some women in military leadership roles were pushed out, that's gotta earn a few brownie points with the "make America go back to 1950" enthusiasts. If we have to destroy our economy and all our global alliances, small price to be pay right??!
swdccatlady | 6 hours ago
If only it was just the 1950s. Pretty sure it’s 1890-1910 they are aiming for.
Penultimo_1 | 5 hours ago
I’m not so sure they aren’t aiming to go back to 1850 South Carolina.
12-34 | 7 hours ago
That just proves how much rednecks and bigots value trans' lives.
That random trans kid's life is worth $40b in soybean exports!
Turtledonuts | 5 hours ago
And they did it! They kept the trans kid in the closet until they're 19 or 20, have moved to a big coastal city, and will never speak to their family again!
RichardStrauss123 | 8 hours ago
Had no idea the n-word meant so much to them. Hope they enjoy saying it with abandon!
rogozh1n | 8 hours ago
Not only violently enforcing bigotry, but also executing Americans who oppose bigotry in the streets in broad daylight. With a mostly secret paramilitary force that has no transparency or oversight and seems to be immune from any responsibility for their actions.
1966TEX | 4 hours ago
Because they get government bailouts, but socialism is bad.
contude327 | 8 hours ago
Greed and bigotry. These farmers were gambling on another big fat bailout and the Orange Slug made racism great again.
Sad-Locksmith-3002 | 7 hours ago
I don’t know, but there’s this woman farmer who’s been yelling at the clouds on Tik tok about how she’s more mad at the libs for asking who she voted for. So in spite, she says she’d rather vote for this again than for people who have no empathy for her. You literally can’t make this shit up.
TeaKingMac | 4 hours ago
Someone should send her the Charlie kirk quote on empathy
b_needs_a_cookie | 7 hours ago
Racism, fear, and a deep seeded need to feel like they're powerful.
214ObstructedReverie | 7 hours ago
> Why are they all voting for this guy?
Because they need to protect the sanctity of women's sports by kicking out the two trans people in the country so they can go back to making fun of women's sports.
TeaKingMac | 4 hours ago
They just want to be able to jerk off to a high school girls volleyball team without worrying they're gay.
MrSnarf26 | 6 hours ago
Rural midwest- 60-80% of republican voters could give a shit what actually happens in the white house as long as the people they dont like are being harmed as well (perceived or otherwise).
RichardStrauss123 | 6 hours ago
Seems like that lack of fucks comes with a hefty price tag.
Disco425 | 7 hours ago
Putin benefits...
ericwphoto | 7 hours ago
And I just watched a video of three ranchers who still fucking support Trump. It really sucks living IN the Twilight Zone.
Lucky_Dragonfruit_88 | 7 hours ago
They are incredibly stupid and also assholes.
Live-Comfortable2026 | 5 hours ago
They support it because of decades of brainwashing from right wing "news" outlets, churches and various industry marketing groups.
MaximumJoyce1916 | 4 hours ago
Give Canada a reason to sell all our potash to reliable trade partners. No potash, much less food.
d4electro | 8 hours ago
Something something America doesn't need other countries and protectionism is good until it affects me
Corcorans-ghost | 7 hours ago
because education in small town america, is terrible.
and most farmers, are from small town America
Zhao16 | 6 hours ago
You forgot to add threaten to invade your main exporter of fertilizer!
Moscowmitchismybitch | 2 hours ago
Next step is to eliminate the federal minimum wage & child labor laws. Them fields ain't gonna work themselves. If they somehow win the midterms we might as well just get to the Mad Max part of this time line.
Parsimile | 44 minutes ago
POSIWID:
Purpose Of A System Is What It Does
Equivalent_Lunch_944 | 7 hours ago
Not that I am for Trump but it’s because the other side says it’s never been better and that you’re wrong if you think otherwise. People would rather reckless change than no change because at least then there’s potential for circumstances to change.
Puzzle-Necked | 7 hours ago
>People would rather make it worse than the status quo because people are morons
FTFY
Equivalent_Lunch_944 | 6 hours ago
I think that’s fair but I have a bit of empathy (and for what it’s worth I’m Canadian.) Things aren’t going to change unless you make changes and while I wouldn’t say Trumps election is positive, I’d say the emergence of the Democratic Socialists seem like a silver lining as, from my perspective, it seems to align more with current American sensibilities - taking money out of politics, taxing billionaires, holding officials to account, spending money in communities, etc.
Live-Comfortable2026 | 5 hours ago
To be fair, the democrats have repeatedly tried to improve conditions in rural America, but they continuously get attacked for it. There is no rational discussion about the issues, these people are voting to support what is basically a lifestyle ideology rather than politics or economics.
Equivalent_Lunch_944 | 5 hours ago
No I’m with you. I get the Democratic strategy of placing major projects in red states but at a certain point when your tactics aren’t working when do you change them?
I think the other thing that kind gets understated is where the changes from 2020 to 2024 were. It was places like Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin. So to pretend like it’s dumb farmers who caused Trump 2.0 is misguided - it’s people in Ex-urbs, and rural areas that rightly feel that they are being left behind. Like even if Nebraska flipped how many votes is it worth like 5?
RichardStrauss123 | 7 hours ago
I never once heard Biden or any Biden official say, "it's never been better."
I heard them say the situation was improving but there were too many people who weren't feeling it so they refused to take a victory lap.
Don't know where you got this.
Equivalent_Lunch_944 | 6 hours ago
When Biden was up for reelection and approval was dipping it was the democrats chance and responsibility to say “we hear you and this is how we plan to address it.” Instead when asked directly what Kamala would do differently than Biden she said I’m not sure. Then when she lost she did an ‘I told you so’ instead of taking ownership that ‘it’s her job to convince voters’ and not assume that ‘they are owed’.
BlackmillMiracle | 6 hours ago
cool, and Trump already had proven what a failure he was in his first term.
Don't try to kid yourself. It's the bigotry and racism is why they voted for Trump.
-JackBack- | 6 hours ago
And hate for trans kids that want to play sports ball.
Equivalent_Lunch_944 | 6 hours ago
Again I don’t defend these people but I am at least empathetic. I think that there’s some blindness of the difference between values and financial incentive. And by and large I think people respond more to the latter.
I think for a lot of voters they saw and voted for lower costs via lower taxes (especially the business class - execs, business owners,etc.) Obviously that money had to come from somewhere and it ended up biting them in the ass.
But given a choice between your life getting $5,000 more expensive and something that goes against your beliefs (say all government employees need to state their sexuality and religion), I think a lot of people will take affordability and it’s not that they don’t hold to their beliefs, it’s just that for a lot of people there isn’t that much of a buffer between how much they can metaphorically spend on their beliefs.
That’s why you see a lot of smart socially liberal people work for defence contractors, big tech or other organizations known to be harmful. Or people with no other options joining the military or becoming ICE officers.
I think it’s a bit of a tricky probably and the way you fix it, is by raising the floor so people can afford to live true to their beliefs.
BlackmillMiracle | 5 hours ago
I have just so little room for empathy for people who continued to vote for this clown, simply because of their bigotry.
"I think for a lot of voters they saw and voted for lower costs via lower taxes"
Any just hoe many times must trickle down economics play out before they wake up and realize it's a scam.
Equivalent_Lunch_944 | 5 hours ago
I’m with you but the Democratics aren’t offering anything meaningfully different and that’s the frustration.
It’s a similar issue in Canada where the 2 major parties aren’t meaningfully ideologically different enough so there’s no room for change, even though it may be what people want.
BlackmillMiracle | 4 hours ago
"I’m with you but the Democratics aren’t offering anything meaningfully different and that’s the frustration."
Oh wonderful, a wild "bOtH sIdeZ" has appeared.
Equivalent_Lunch_944 | 4 hours ago
Fuck off. It’s the job of elected officials to represent their constituents do you feel like they’re doing that? Do you think the plethora of Americans want aid sent to Israel, the Epstein files postponed, and congress people able to make stock trades on insider information?
Is one side worse? absolutely. But they are both fundamentally failing to do their job. And you should be angrier not just at the Republicans but all the Democratics that are complicit in letting him get away with what he’s done.
The Graham Platner story is a testament to how fed up people are. They would rather support an ex-military, nepo baby, abusive alcoholic in his run, until it reached a breaking point, over a corrupt geriatric Susan Collins. You Americans deserve better.
GWstudent1 | 6 hours ago
This is delusional cope.
Eclipse434343 | 9 hours ago
I’m pretty sure this is a case of the leopard ate my face and it won’t stop until morale improves. Gotta love people who happily vote to outsource their jobs /businesses to Argentina / private equity
tryexceptifnot1try | 8 hours ago
Nobody deserves this more than conservative farmers. I lived in Nebraska for about 5 years a decade ago and it was incredible how much the whole state was held back by morons out west in ranching and farming. They take handouts from everyone, push bad government (corn ethanol) policies on everyone, and then whine if you don't call them the epitome of US patriotism. They have actively destroyed this country via greed and ignorance and deserve to lose everything.
DotComprehensive4902 | 8 hours ago
That's like farmers in Britain. Moaned about the CAP when in the EU but were the biggest recipients of EU funds. Now they are moaning they can't make a living
RIP_Soulja_Slim | 8 hours ago
Brexit is such a slow burn leopards at my face narrative. Britain had a lot of issues before Brexit, but they're now approaching conditions where the average British person is worse off than the average Mississippian.
DotComprehensive4902 | 8 hours ago
Thing is the farmers were moaning they couldn't make a living pretty much the daytime Withdrawal Agreement was sealed
roamingandy | 5 hours ago
'Russia paid for leopards to eat my face' tbh
dessert-er | an hour ago
We can blame Russia for a lot of misinformation I’m sure, but can we blame them for voters being fucking idiots? It seems like at a certain point people need to take accountability for their votes.
South-Rabbit-4064 | 7 hours ago
I live in the south, and as long as they're hitting a tractor rap cliche of "supporting my family and working the land", and no one else is as tough as them because they wake up early.
Automatoboto | 7 hours ago
daily reminder that there are no small farms. Its all big business and these scumbags will do it all again because of fox news.
thatgibbyguy | 8 hours ago
You could have stopped at nobody deserves this.
The weird schadenfreude Americans have to shit on each other is really the primary reason this is happening and we all suffer for it.
Thirty downvotes for saying "nobody deserves this" - are you people so fucking dumb you don't realize you are suffering too? My god bruh, they are voting and they are winning, and you are suffering for it, and your answer is to just be happy that they are suffering ... ALONG WITH YOU?
Yeah you're way smarter than them. Yep.
BroughtBagLunchSmart | 8 hours ago
Conservatives voted for the productive parts of the country to suffer. The welfare farmers in the flyover states are now feeling some of the pain they caused and lashing out. We tried to both warn and help them and they called us gay obama soros marxists. The only thing right wingers will ever understand is personal pain because their brain has been cooked by the church and other right wing lies.
RIP_Soulja_Slim | 8 hours ago
Lamenting in other people's pain only serves to further drive political discourse towards unabashed tribalism, it's detrimental if your goal is to strive towards a future where everyone is better off.
GeoisGeo | 7 hours ago
Honest question. If one group sets an entire movement on othering and attacking the others what is the appropriate response of the others?
Equivalent_Lunch_944 | 5 hours ago
Probably disengaging, delegitimizing, consolidating strength through groups with similar values, and creating separate institutions to act within. That would be my guess.
RIP_Soulja_Slim | 7 hours ago
Certainly not devolving themselves to that same tier of nonsense groupthink.
Also, if you think that everyone who voted for Trump did so because of othering or attacking people you should get out more. America is a big place with a lot of really good people that get drawn in to a lot of mistaken ideas around what's best for everyone. You don't need to agree with them, but it's smart to better understand them - and thinking that everyone on the other politics team is just there to attack and be hateful shows a deep deep lack of understanding.
oldtimehawkey | 3 hours ago
That saying about love conquering hate, yeah, that’s fake.
The Republican cult is so full of hate, they attacked the US Capitol building.
Do not fucking say us enjoying farmers going bankrupt and losing their farms is going to further divide us. The right wing cult is so divided, they don’t believe in objective FACTS.
Something major is gonna have to happen to get the right wing cult to wake up. If it’s our country being destroyed from within, so be it.
RIP_Soulja_Slim | 3 hours ago
> Do not fucking say us enjoying farmers going bankrupt and losing their farms is going to further divide us.
I don't know how you could be so sucked in to a media bubble that you genuinely think this, but if you do it's rather useless to attempt a conversation around the topic.
Suffice to say it's really clear to me that there's a small but very vocal contingent of reddit that seems to sit around reading the ragebait coming out of a few media outlets and really takes that to heart.
I would advise actually getting out in the world and talking to people. You might be shocked that those who don't vote the way you do are often not doing that because they hate you, they're often just stuck in their own bubble.
hippydipster | 7 hours ago
It's not the schadenfreude that is the cause. The cause is people voting for politicians who do harm to our nation. The schadenfreude comes after.
78765 | 8 hours ago
> shit on each other is really the primary reason this is happening
BS
Long9696 | 8 hours ago
They voted for it though? What are people supposed to do? Revoke their right to vote?
eukomos | 5 hours ago
They materially harmed the rest of us too with their stupidity, how do you expect us to react? Of course we're mad at them and glad they're feeling some part of the impacts of their actions.
strangemedia6 | 8 hours ago
I was talking to a farmer the other day, and he brought up how tough the year has been for farming. He was talking about the low sale price of crops and the high price of diesel the rising price of fertilizer. He said “he better get this figured out soon or it’s gonna be bad for everyone.” I assume he was referring to Trump and also that he has probably voted for Trump every time. I decided to go out in a limb and responded that at this point, it almost seems deliberate. To my surprise he just quietly said “yep…”
che-che-chester | 8 hours ago
I hear more and more comments like that from hardcore Trumpers. The corruption is so blatant that it breaks through even with Fox News ignoring it. And Trump is so obsessed with ego projects like his arch, ballroom, Kennedy Center, etc. that he barely mentions things his voters actually care about. I hope that is reflected in the Midterm results.
mackinator3 | 7 hours ago
They still vote republican.
TreeInternational771 | 5 hours ago
“I don’t care about you I just want your vote” - Trump during a 2024 campaign stop
Again, i don’t feel bad even in the slightest for these farmers.
Nothing at all.
USSMarauder | 8 hours ago
"...damn Obama"
SubZeroSunExodus | 8 hours ago
Just to add. Those conservative farmers hate all the “liberal” cities which are huge consumers of agriculture products.
And those same farmers hate their own workers as republicans crush down brutally the very same workers used for under the table work.
In summary. Smooth brain conservative farmers hate customers and their own workers. … that doesn’t exactly sound like a good business owner.
listentomenow | 6 hours ago
The did own the libs though. Disappointment and dread is at all time high so they should feel proud about that! And isn't that really the only reason they elected a troll for potus? To troll the libs? Sure, the rest of the country and world are gonna suffer, but you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.
Also, I assumed most Republicans/Conservatives must be super privileged and crushing it financially. That's why the Mexican border and other people's genitals are their top issues, and not money in politics or our predatory healthcare system like mine. But I'm not super privileged like they are.
GoldTrade11 | 5 hours ago
In trump's words "I love the uneducated"
rrrrrivers | 5 hours ago
Yes, he has a habit of saying the quiet part out loud, doesn't he? It's almost like a lot of the inefficiencies in our nation's education system could and might be by design because Republicans, too, love the uneducated.
--CDXX-- | 2 hours ago
Ohhhh this is good. Cheers mate
xdre | 8 hours ago
...and thanks to the destruction of USAID and the purging of SNAP beneficiaries, farmers can't even fall back on that to cushion the blow. It'll be instructional to see if they learned the political lesson or not.
I mean, I'm pretty sure we all already know the answer to that, but I would love to be proven wrong.
T-sigma | 8 hours ago
A few will, most won’t. I think there’s a chance for a material blip during midterms, but by next national election it will be mass amnesia and they will go back to overwhelmingly support the GOP presidential candidate and all downstream candidates.
The only outcome they care about is owning the libs. No matter how awful the GOP is to them, they sincerely believe the left would be worse.
While not “farmers”, I grew up in rural red state and while my family has started to crack on Trump, they still hate democrats with more passion than they demonstrate for anything else in life. It’s literally how they describe some people. They call them democrats as a slur.
Owlbertowlbert | 8 hours ago
That always shocks me. When someone asks what they like about trumps policies or administration, they IMMEDIATELY begin talking about Kamala Harris or Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton… it is never what they like about the administration. It’s what they abhor about democrats on a personal level. How the fuck…
SpaceyCoffee | 8 hours ago
Propaganda, my guy. That’s precisely how it is intended to work, and boy does it work. Turn what would ordinarily be a rational discussion into a visceral emotional response.
xdre | 8 hours ago
It's cult-like, at this point. They know who the problem is, but it's almost like it physically pains them to vote for anyone with a (D) behind their name. I would've thought they'd be a lot more concerned about their money than that, but I guess cults gonna cult.
b0w3n | 7 hours ago
If it pains them to vote for a democrat, they can stay home instead of voting. It accomplishes nearly the same thing and they can hold their head up high like they're still morally pure for not voting for one.
LastNightOsiris | 7 hours ago
this is similar to the strategy that democrats have pursued at the national level since 2016 -
"we're not Trump" is the main message the DNC and presidential candidates in the last 2 elections have been pushing. The Republicans and Trump in particular have been more effective at branding and propaganda.
The Biden administration got some of the most meaningful legislation in several decades passed, but was absolutely terrible at communicating that to the voting public.
dca_user | 8 hours ago
They voted for this, so I’m sure they’re happy now
DishSoapIsFun | 8 hours ago
They’ll never vote for someone who gives a shit about them. They’ll vote for deporting the people that work their fields EVERY TIME.
“I love the uneducated.”
“Smart people don’t like me.”
hippydipster | 7 hours ago
Well, at this point, there aren't very many people around who give a shit about them. The republican leaders don't. The democrat leaders don't. The non-rural voters don't. It's pretty much down to just themselves caring about themselves, and ironically, they mostly don't care about each other either.
AI_ReleaseTheFIles | 8 hours ago
Learn what? If democrats win they will bail the farmers once again. The only learned is the government will always bailout them out all they have to do is play the victim when the time is right.
xdre | 8 hours ago
I hate how true that feels. And then they'll simply repeat the cycle because "muh taxes" or some other factually untrue nonsense.
NavyDean | 9 hours ago
Wow its almost like some kind of system where America buys other peoples goods, and then those people use the US dollars to buy US goods.
Who would have thought? 🤣
Obvious_Chapter2082 | 9 hours ago
People tend to forget that tariffs don’t just make our imports more expensive, they also make our exports more expensive for foreigners as well. So not only do tariffs reduce domestic consumption of what we can produce, but foreign consumption of it as well
oldsecondhand | 8 hours ago
It's also pretty stupid to put tariffs on raw materials that your industry needs.
RichardStrauss123 | 8 hours ago
"We're doing this to bring back domestic manufacturing jobs."
Oh? Okay. Then why are you teriffing the machines I need to run the factory? Could it be because you're stupid?
DodgsonKaputnik | 4 hours ago
Then buy American machines!
Oh, we don;t make any here? Well, we will soon. Someone will start a machine factory any day now, I mean, how long could it take? Some guy is probably building one in his garage right now!
In all seriousness, these folk filed for divorce from reality years ago, and now that it's finalized there's almost no reaching them.
Ghoulius-Caesar | 8 hours ago
Beyond tariffs, the POTUS threatening Canada and Greenland’s sovereignty is bad for business. The only people who like those threats are the 70 million dumbest Americans while 7.5 billion people across the world are less likely to buy American products. Making AI shitposts about conquering other nations is hurting American profits and it’s embarrassing that the business and farming communities don’t see this and still support the toxic clown.
Sherm | 8 hours ago
> People tend to forget that tariffs don’t just make our imports more expensive, they also make our exports more expensive for foreigners as well
They don't forget it; they genuinely believe it's not true. They think we're so special and powerful that all we have to do is look the other countries in the eye and say "NO!" and they'll just pay more for our stuff while selling us what we want at the same rates. That's literally what Trump told them and they believed. This is what happens when you spend 50 years indoctrinating kids with the idea "this is the greatest country in the world and was chosen by God."
ebfortin | 8 hours ago
Oh boy. You ask them to think 2 levels deep. They barwly can't think one level...
SimonaRed | 8 hours ago
They think? Dunno about that...
ConstableAssButt | 7 hours ago
barely one level is generous. I'm not even sure almost one level isn't too generous.
SuccotashOther277 | 8 hours ago
Exactly. Other countries just don't sit back and let us tariff them. If we tariff them, they do the same, and so we export less. Overall global trade and GDP also drops. Also, inputs to produce domestically go up. There can be a case for tariffs if the country is just developing industry, but that doesn't apply to the U.S. Tariffs on Chinese cars won't make Ford and GM magically make better cars at lower costs because the legacy infrastructure they have is expensive.
evident_lee | 8 hours ago
It wasn't really a collapse of the farm industry. More of a systematic destruction of it per the playbook outlined in Project 2025. Just got to try to make sure that everything is owned by a dozen billionaires
red_engine_mw | 8 hours ago
The reason it's so underappreciated is because farmers, especially hardcore Republican ones, as we like to say here in the Midwest, wouldn't say shit, even if they had a mouthful of it. Well, they've got a mouthful of it now.
truckingon | 8 hours ago
Collapse is too passive a word but I'm struggling to come up with one that conveys the stupidity and shortsightedness that got us here, while also capturing the fact that the economic victims brought this upon themselves. Petardation, maybe?
SilverBadger73 | 8 hours ago
Self-destruction?
Penultimo_1 | 5 hours ago
I believe the word you’re looking for is Trumped
sans_deus | 6 hours ago
Petardation. OMG. Instant classic.
gin_possum | 7 hours ago
This needs to be the word of the year! Hat tip to you, truckingon
DonnieBallsack | 5 hours ago
Republicanism.
BicycleWhisper | 6 hours ago
the state of engineering your own catastrophic failure through sheer stupidity.
NuSpirit_ | 6 hours ago
Self-sabotage...
awildstoryteller | 5 hours ago
Timothy Synder has a catchy name for it that I am sure he will turn into a book:
Superpower Suicide.
failedaspotcheck | 8 hours ago
It's not underappreciated at all, it was an obvious effect of his first term and plenty of us were warning them for his second term.
But these farmers chose racism over self-preservation, so I can't say I feel sorry for them getting what they voted for 3 times.
davewashere | 8 hours ago
They know if things get really bad and they make enough noise they'll just get bailed out with taxpayer money.
eurekaanchor | 8 hours ago
Farmers would rather be homeless than admit they were ever wrong on any individual opinion in their entire lives. I live in Americas farm capital, it might as well be 2015.
Username_Reported | 7 hours ago
Nah, Farmers voted for this, and still proudly will/would vote for him again and these policies.
And they still proudly hang his flags on their fences and above their beds
cjcfman | 7 hours ago
JD Vance has invested in companies that buy up struggling farmland for cheap. Was easily known before the election
They 100% voted for this
Penultimo_1 | 5 hours ago
Having to sell the farm for pennies on the dollar to JD, Thiel and their Saudi Arabia investors is what their Trump vote gets them. By deporting all the brown workers they will be able to work the minimum wage jobs on their former farms
wirthmore | 7 hours ago
All I have to do is drive out of the city to see low-effort billboards and signs blaming Democrats for problems of the farms' own making.
My sympathies are negative.
ztreHdrahciR | 4 hours ago
Have you noticed how many "poor me" farmer videos are out now? But not a single one of them would ever say, "I was wrong, and I'm changing my vote". They would rather go bankrupt worshipping their orange overlord
NihiloZero | 8 hours ago
A couple things I noticed which weren't mentioned in this article...
1.) Fertilizer prices are going to skyrocket next year. This is also a result of the attack on Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
2.) There has been a widespread and historic drought across much of the USA. The wheat harvest in the USA was halved this year, and that was overwhelmingly due to drought. Other crops and breadbaskets around the world also suffered from extreme weather.
Those two factors alone would be devastating for farmers. But on top of higher diesel costs and an unhealthy export market... many families are outright losing their farms. Those farms will be bought up by huge multinational corporations.
And people are free to celebrate the hardships of ignorant and bigoted American farmers, but... this is going to be a disaster for all Americans. Beyond that, it's going to be a disaster for people around the world. The dismal harvests and higher shipping costs are going to cause widespread famine.
I'd also add that the current El Nino event is still not at its peak and next year is widely expected by climatologists to be the hottest year on record. The continuation of extreme weather events should not be expected to be benefit harvests.
barkinginthestreet | an hour ago
The article was a bit of a mess. According to FRED, ag exports... aren't down?
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/B181RC1Q027SBEA
dingalinglans | 8 hours ago
Well if a bunch of republican voting farmers, rich from cheap immigration, vote again their own self interests, what the devil did they expect? Not a shock when you've been watching.
Guisasse | 7 hours ago
Underappreciated by whom? Cuz I appreciate it quite a bit.
I appreciate it a lot when they whine about how their choices, which fucked the entire country, did in fact, also completely fuck them.
hoptrix | 7 hours ago
Is this a land play for corps to takeover more us farmland for data centers and corp owned farming? I imagine a savvy business person is. Using up land from farmers who have to sell to survive.
OkYak9466 | 6 hours ago
If farmers had more than 2 braincells to rub together I bet they'd find this information very helpful. But I doubt it.
If farmers had more than 2 braincells to rub together I bet they'd find this information very helpful. But I doubt it.
If farmers had more than 2 braincells to rub together I bet they'd find this information very helpful. But I doubt it.
trash-juice | 5 hours ago
Where would we go to learn about it, to even be aware there was an agra issue? Our news services that represent the ppl’s interest are few and the networks that spew crap proliferate
Designer_Emu_6518 | 4 hours ago
The cronies want to buy it up so they are tanking it. They did the same thing roughly in the 50s I believe. Most of the dept of ag was ex ranking officers of the military
atreeismissing | 4 hours ago
Are we talking about the collapse of farm exports during Trump's first administration or during his second? Because he fucked farmers both times, repeatedly, and they still rewarded him for it.
Widdershinsplint | 8 hours ago
Farmers should be familiar with this concept since they are in the agriculture biz and mostly like to thump Bibles more than they read or practice the wisdom or heed the warnings of it but here is a refresher verse that should hit them right in the bread basket- "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." — Galatians 6:8. For those who only went to Church for the donuts and heady sense of self righteousness- This is what that verse means. Your choices (votes) have consequences. Your daily actions and choices are like planting seeds. Sowing to the flesh means that if you live only for selfish, greedy, or sinful desires, your life will produce bad results and decay. Sowing to the Spiri means living to please God (Not the New American version Unempathic Supply Side Jesus) and help others through the Holy Spirit, your life will produce eternal life and goodness. You know, the old fashioned one that said love and care for the sick and hungry and don't mistreat the foreigner- but that is such an old fashioned word or notion, like groceries or silly concepts like affordability. They also claimed to be fiscal conservatives above all else. What did they think for the love of money is the root of all evil meant? You chose your wallet over your morals. You failed. You loved your money more than your neighbors. So, they are in the process of reaping the whirlwind and their fields will be salted with a flood of their own tears.
rrriot | 4 hours ago
When an industry gets ravaged, the large conglomerates (who can absorb the losses) wait for the small and medium sized businesses to go out of business.
Then they just ... buy them out so they can expand. They are Trumps actual base, so, everything according to plan.
anewleaf1234 | 4 hours ago
So after Trump started his trade war, Canadian flags instantly showed up in grocery stores.
There are American products on the shelves, but lots of people are still checking countries of origin and avoiding, when possible, good from the states.
Which is affecting farmers from red states who voted for Trump.
NO_FIX_AUTOCORRECT | 2 hours ago
It's quite literally caused by tarriffs, specifically, other country's extremely predictable retaliatory tarriffs against Trump's tariffs. The answer about tariffs was figured out decades ago. It was well known that they just don't work the way Trump wants them to work.
Now, other stupid decisions by this admin have made it even worse. But tariffs and trade war have always been the culprit. And the discussion on those is really over. people either understand or they don't. Makes for an easy win for the next president to end the petty and unnecessary trade wars
bugaloo2u2 | 2 hours ago
Farmers got a welfare handout when Trump fucked them over in his first administration. They’re crying now bc they want their handout again. It’s not in “the news” bc Trump has an iron grip on the press. But social media is ripe with their crying. They’re ignorant hypocrites, and the rest of the country has no sympathy for them. They can just find their bootstraps and suffer in the meanwhile. That’s what they told all of the federal workers that Trump fired, right? That’s what they said to all poor people after Trump cut their health insurance snd snap benefits, right?
Defiant_Freedom_249 | 2 hours ago
"Yeah, but the liberals and communism and Biden" the ignorant will repeatedly cry time and time again to justify the horrific actions of the current administration.
99kemo | 2 hours ago
It is inconceivable that the political pro’s Trump had working for him didn’t know that his tariff policies would be devastating to farmers. He knew full well what would happen but he figured they would support him no matter what so don’t worry about it. What did he say about how he could shoot someone on 5th Ave and his fans would still support him. Didn’t W.C Fields say “Never give a sucker an even break”. Trump got it.
artisanrox | an hour ago
Because the Pubs and GOPers (which includes 80% of farming districts) though it'd be cool to have a tariff war let alone have a billion-dollar baby and his syncophant Big Balls cancel USAID which was the prime driver of a lot of crop exports too
How do y'all like your ethnic cleansing, Pubs? Was it worth losing your farm? I guess it was!
geneticdeadender | 7 hours ago
This was always going to happen no matter who was president.
Globalism is over. If you are relying on a ten thousand mile logistics chain to feed your people then you are a goddam fool.
Farmers knew this was coming since the pandemic. No one got sucker punched here. They stood tgeir and knew it was coming and now they feel aggrieved.
FlyoverJesusLand | 4 hours ago
If globalism is over, it's because Republicans voted in an anti-globalist who wages trade wars against his closest trading partners (and an actual war against one of the world's largest oil exporters).
And farmers knew this since the pandemic because Trump was president then as well, and he'd similarly alienated China.
geneticdeadender | an hour ago
Poppycock!
There hasn't been a globalist president elected in 30 years and there hasn't been a candidate on either side that was a globalist in the last 20.
Globalism is done.
China will be lucky to be a single country in the next 5 to 10 years and at the least their population will drop to 500,000,000 by 2050 because it still takes 20 years to make a 19 year old and they haven't even started yet. One Child Policy has created a demographic black hole that they are unlikely to recover from. If they don't end up in warlordism like they have every time for the last 2000 years then something worse will probably happen. All they have is Xi in office. He has killed or imprisoned all his rivals and he isn't listening to anyone let alone talking to anyone. His flunkies just try to predict what he wants and that is why they sent a spy balloon over the United States.
Without globalism the Chinese rise is done.
Without globalism the chip market is crippled.
If you aren't selling to the US, who actually has a navy that can protect their trade then you are likely to suffer serious interruptions to your business. They are even re-instating the "prize courts" so that privateers can seize illegal ships like the shadow fleet and sell the oil.
Globalism is over and there was absolutely no going back the moment Biden decided to weaponize the dollar against the Russians.
We live in interesting times and our children may not understand or enjoy the wonders of the world that were provided to us. It was always going to end.
Chimes111 | 4 hours ago
No countries, not even the starving ones, wants American foods, grains etc.. for free, for nearly 30 years. Too many chemicals and plastics in American foods (making people sick or killing).
Corcorans-ghost | 7 hours ago
here is a question, for agro-econ specalist.
i have not studied agro-econs in any great lenght, but if we truly go all "Free market and free trade" on the farm industry, and let cheap foring food flood our market, would it reduce the cost of food enouph to justify just scrapping the farmer welfare state?
Informal_Process2238 | 6 hours ago
We already have foreign food and the price gouging continues
Corcorans-ghost | 5 hours ago
we have many import restircitons, to protect domestic farmers.
Penultimo_1 | 5 hours ago
Because we also have farmer welfare state to artificially keep prices high
Striper_Cape | 6 hours ago
The US used to donate excess food crops that farmers were paid to grow. Farms going under and leaving fields fallow contributed to the dust bowl. Paying farmers to grow food to keep them in business.
RedK_33 | 5 hours ago
The U.S. Agricultural sector is worth around $1.5 trillion. Direct farmer output is around $300 billion of that. If you include everything related to the ag. industry like transport, machinery, foodservice etc. we’re looking at more like $10 trillion.
The “farmer welfare state” doesn’t exist for the benefit of the consumer but for the benefit of the corporations. Our taxes aren’t subsidizing our grocery prices, they’re subsidizing the cost of operations for the agro-businesses.
I know it’s not all back and white so let’s not focus on semantics, but going all “free market and free trade” on the farm industry will in no way benefit the majority of society.
Corcorans-ghost | 4 hours ago
the entire wellfare state exists for the benafit of copoerations,
if the end result is not cheaper food, then what im suggesting would not work