Fifth-generation farmer Aaron Lehman. (YouTube Screen grab)
MS NOW reporter Alex Tabet says there’s a very obvious reason the state of Iowa is slipping out of Republicans’ grasp this midterm, and it has everything to do with the Trump economy.
“It's chaos,” said Iowa Farmers Association President Aaron Lehman, speaking with Tabet on a Saturday morning show. “You know, we are just not on the right path at the time. When farmers are dealing with all this uncertainty, we should be doing more to help them bring stability.”
“We should be passing a farm bill that's three years overdue to provide some stability for farmers. No passage in sight yet. We should be doing more to have a trade policy that gets to fair prices for farmers with fair practices for farmers. We're not getting any closer to that,” Lehman added. “It's just chaos. So, the chaotic situation makes it so hard for farmers to plan on how they can put a crop in the ground, harvest it and expect a reasonable return.”
Tabet, reporting from Lehman’s fifth generation corn, soybean and hay farm, said life on the farm is more expensive than ever.
“This farm operates three tractors … and about a year ago, it was $3.50 per gallon for diesel. Now it's $5.40. Each of these things guzzle about 100 gallons a day. So some quick math will show you for each tractor during harvest season, that's an additional $200 per tractor, $600 in total,” said Tabet.
But that is just one of the many factors that farmers are having to contend with, he added. Equipment and machinery purchase and repairs are significantly more expensive under Trump’s tariffs, and the food they grow, including corn and soybeans are contenting with retaliative tariffs from other countries due to Trump’s tariffs.
“Not to mention the fact that every single farm in America has to purchase fertilizer, and fertilizer costs are up 12 percent in the first quarter of 2026 because of this war in Iran, because of the strait of Hormuz,” said Tabet.
When asking Lehman and other farmers at the Iowa State Fair if their farm was profitable last year, the most common answer was ‘No.” The answer remained a solid “no” when asked if they expected to break even this season, as well.
Lehman, as president of the organization did not say who he voted for in the last election, but the state of Iowa — and farmers in particular — were deep in the fold for President Trump in the last election.
“What I can tell you is we are here in Iowa President Trump won 98 of the 99 counties in the caucuses. He won the state, beating Kamala Harris by 14 points in 2024,” said Tabet. “This is Trump country. But at the same time, the Cook Political Report just put the gubernatorial race as “lean Democratic” for [candidate] Rob Sand and a “toss up” for [Senate candidate] Josh Turek. These are races that shouldn't be this close. But because of these economic conditions, at least according to the Cook Political Report, they are.”