Trump blamed for imminent 'widespread collapse' of US farming

Donald Trump's policies, as well as the "inaction" of Congress, are being blamed for what agriculture experts warn could be an imminent "widespread collapse" of the U.S. farming sector, according to The Hill.

This week, "bipartisan farming advocates" and "former leaders in the industry" delivered a letter to the House and Senate, warning that action must be taken soon "if we are to avoid a widespread collapse of American agriculture and our rural communities.” Whether or not an outcome that severe is likely, experts concur that the Trump administration's trade policies, especially tariffs, are hurting farmers at a time when they are already in "a downturn cycle," worsening the trends of "costs of production and weak crop prices."

The Hill noted that the names signed onto the letter featured a "bipartisan group of leaders including staffers under former Republican administrations, past heads of agriculture organizations, experts in the field and farmers."

"The letter also cited difficulties with maintaining "reliable" labor access, in reference to Trump's massive crackdown on immigration. Advocates from numerous fields, including agriculture and hospitality, have warned the administration that its mass deportation plans are disrupting the immigrant workers that they rely on, threatening to reduce productivity and raise prices.

"[I]t is clear that the current administration’s actions, along with congressional inaction, have increased costs for farm inputs, disrupted overseas and domestic markets, denied agriculture its reliable labor pool, and defunded critical ag research and staffing," the letter read.

Farmers previously suffered during Trump's first-term trade wars, the letter explained, which tanked the American soybean industry's market share by 50 percent and saw the country leave the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which cost farmers an estimated $4.4 billion. The American Farm Bureau currently estimates that Trump's second-term policies have cost the agriculture sector an additional American Farm Bureau $34.6 billion.

In December, the Trump administration announced a $12 billion bailout for farmers impacted by market conditions, though it stopped short of accepting the blame and instead blamed Joe Biden for higher costs.

"The current administration’s range of tariffs, it’s exacerbated the original trade war that we had with China back in the first administration. I think it’s actually … hurting our soybean export market, in particular to China,” Ian Sheldon, the Andersons Chair in agricultural marketing, trade and policy at Ohio State University, explained to The Hill. “The president did strike a trade deal with China back in November whereby they committed to importing 12 million tons of soybeans through the end of the current marketing year, and then 25 million tons for the next three marketing years. But it’s very clear that soybean farmers in particular have really been hurt in terms of lost export markets in China."

Experts have cast doubt on the deal Sheldon mentioned, as China continued to purchase no soybeans from the U.S. in the immediate aftermath.