John Boyd Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association warns farmers are going to lose their land under the policies of President Donald Trump, even the one’s who voted for him.
“We're hearing from farmers all around the country that bankruptcies are on the rise and farmers are asking, ‘how am I going to be able to stay in my home or keep my home if they file bankruptcy.’ Farm suicides are up and the president's tariffs have put this country in complete turmoil,” Boyd told CNN anchor John Berman.
Boyd described a “state of emergency” for America's farmers because of the historically low sales prices of corn, wheat and soybeans thanks to tariffs troubles.
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“The president is negotiating on this because he knows [farm produce] is the only thing that America produces, and he's gambling with American farmers' lives,” said Boyd. “
Boyd also slammed the president “herding up migrant workers … riding through their fields and chasing [them] … like livestock.”
“These persons have been doing this type of work for a very, very long time on these farms, harvesting tobacco and other commodities around the country with no problem,” Boyd said. “These weren't criminals or all the things the president says they are. These are hardworking people that are doing the work that many of us in our own country don't want.”
The combination of labor shortages leaving food rotting in the fields and plummeting produce prices were not just hitting Black farmers, Boyd said.
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“White farmers in those red states … who overwhelmingly voted for this president are going to be on the auction block come this fall because they won't be able to sell and keep their farm at at [current] grain prices,” Boyd said. “… You will not be able to make it with the highest input cost per acre that we face in my whole 40 years of farming. This is the worst period I’ve seen since I’ve been farming since 1983.”
Berman asked if Trump’s proposed tariffs on foreign goods would help farmers, but Boyd replied the tariffs didn’t help the last time Trump tried it.
“When he imposed those tariffs on China [in his first administration] they started buying soybeans from Brazil and the market never did come back to us,” Boyd said. “The first time the president came into office, John, I was selling soybeans for $16.80 a bushel. It plummeted all the way down to $8 a bushel, and the market never came back.”
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