Tag: Farmers

Farm Aid, Donny Style

Common knowledge that our farmers have been struggling and losing the battle thanks to the ill-conceived tariffs….and now Clueless Leader has decided to do something….

President Trump announced a $12 billion bailout for US farmers on Monday, aiming to soften the blow from his own tariffs and a tough year in agriculture. The relief includes $11 billion in direct payments through the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, with another $1 billion set aside for other commodities, the Wall Street Journal reports. Soybean farmers, hit hardest by collapsing prices and the loss of China as a top customer, are expected to benefit the most. Trump announced the aid plan at a White House roundtable Monday, saying it would be funded by tariff revenue, the AP reports.

Farm bankruptcies are up 60% this year, with the cost of goods including fertilizer rising and crop prices low after a record harvest. The aid, set to roll out at the end of February, drew praise from major farm groups. The American Soybean Association lamented 2025’s combination of bad prices, high costs, and lost markets. At Monday’s event, Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pointed fingers at foreign-owned agribusinesses for driving up costs.

Soybean exports to China, which once bought nearly a quarter of all US beans, dropped to zero after Trump’s tariffs, though purchases resumed after a deal at the end of October. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, he announced $12 billion in aid to farmers during a trade dispute with China. The total compensation for lost farm business due to tariffs during his first term was around $23 billion, the Journal reports.

As in 2018, farmers say they appreciate the help but would rather make money from selling crops than government payments, the AP reports. “I think we need to be looking for some avenues to find other funding opportunities and we need to get our markets going. That’s where we want to be able to make a living from,” says Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland, president of the American Soybean Association. Asked Monday if there would be more aid packages, Trump said it would depend on market conditions, the BBC reports. “The farmers don’t want aid,” he said. “They want to have a level playing field.”

This will be a welcome relief but will not solve the problem just delay the inevitable.

How much if this aid will go to agri-business giants?

Let’s be honest these lame tariffs are causing much of the problems…..

Democratic US Sen. Ron Wyden was among those who emphasized Monday that President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policies have helped create the very conditions the White House is now citing to justify its new $12 billion relief plan for American farmers.

“Instead of proposing government handouts, Donald Trump should end his destructive tariff spree so American farmers can compete and win on a level playing field,” said Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. “Donald Trump’s trade war is taxing families, killing markets for our farm goods, and driving farmers into bankruptcy.”

“Trump’s plan to bail out farmers won’t even get agriculture communities back to even,” the senator added. “They’re still paying more for fertilizer, equipment, and seeds, while grown-in-the-USA farm goods are facing more obstacles than ever in foreign markets. Don’t forget that all of this trade destruction and taxing was to raise money for Trump’s massive handouts to billionaires and the ultra-wealthy.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-farmer-bailout

His plan will not solve the problem as I have stated…..his plan is to throw money at the problem he created with the hope that some good can be rescued from the action.

BTW, prices will not go down because of this so-called ‘plan’….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“Buy Bigger Tractors”

My state of Mississippi is dependent on the sell of our major crop, soybeans, and thanx to Donny’s massive tariffs on China our framers are in pain and searching for alternatives….

Members of the state Senate Agriculture Committee were informed Wednesday that the struggles faced by Mississippi farmers are worsening, affecting not only vegetables but also beef.

Agriculture, the state’s largest industry that directly or indirectly employs over 11 percent of the state workforce, has been gut-punched by high inflation, falling prices, drought, and declining exports. Now, many farmers are watching what Washington D.C., especially the White House, will do next concerning tariffs as well as President Donald Trump’s recent plan to import more beef from Argentina.

“Agriculture faces extreme, extreme risk every day,” said State Senator Neil Whaley (R), committee chairman. “When you look at the market volatility and the prices that are returned, the cost of reduction is through the roof. If we do not find ways and avenues to utilize our crops locally and domestically, we are going to lose these family farms, therefore losing independent food. And that is a big problem for us.”

Soybeans, a powerhouse crop in Mississippi, are witnessing a massive drop in sales, largely due to China’s purchase of soybeans from South America, said Duane Dunlap, president of DNS Commodities. Prior to China switching suppliers, Mississippi’s soybeans were a major part of the state’s export, and the Delta was dependent on those foreign orders.

(magnoliatribune.com)

Then the magic of Donny has come to the rescue of farmers…..and they are told to buy bigger tractors(?)….

China has agreed to purchase at least 25 million metric tons of US soybeans annually, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday. Bessent said China will start by purchasing 12 million metric tons of soybeans from the US between now and January, the AP reports. “So you know, our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns, that’s off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come,” Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria. He said the agreement lasts for three years.

he soybean agreement was part of the deal President Trump reached with Xi Jinping at their South Korea meeting, reports the Wall Street Journal. “I was extremely honored by the fact that President Xi authorized China to begin the purchase of massive amounts of Soybeans, Sorghum, and other Farm products,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Our Farmers will be very happy! In fact, as I said once before during my first Administration, Farmers should immediately go out and buy more land and larger tractors.” Last month, for the first time in almost seven years, China bought no soybeans from the US. The country switched to suppliers in Brazil and Argentina, the latter of which annoyed administration officials by removing its export tariffs after receiving a financial lifeline from the US.

This is great news for our farmers…..but I ask what about the deals China has already made elsewhere since Donny and his magic Sharpie?

Will this be a lasting deal?  Or will Donny get his panties in a twist and nullify it down the road?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

All That And Tomatoes Too!

There is always something in the news about the food supply most times it is something is recalled because of some lingering disease….well this time it is tomatoes.

The Food and Drug Administration has updated an ongoing recall of tomatoes to its most severe level, warning there is a high risk of “serious adverse health consequences or death” to those who consume affected products. The recall, for potential salmonella contamination, applies to tomatoes distributed in late April. The New York Times reports consumers are unlikely to come across fresh tomatoes that have been recalled at this point, but the bacteria can survive for months in wet environments, so if any affected tomatoes were frozen, they could still be impacted. The tomatoes were sold in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, Newsweek reports. No illnesses have yet been linked to the tomatoes.

But wait there is more tomato news….

Framers in Florida are destroying their crops before market because of tariffs and lack of labor.

Thousands of unharvested tomatoes are being plowed over in South Florida in a sign of what is to come under President Donald Trump’s tariffs—or tariff threats—and immigration policies. Reporting by Miami’s local Fox affiliate, WVSN, revealed that farmers are cutting their losses and letting crops go to waste due to increased picking and packing costs.

“You can’t even afford to pick them right now,” Heather Moehling, president of Miami-Dade County Farm Bureau, told WVSN. “Between the cost of labor and the inputs that goes in, it’s more cost-effective for farmers to just plow them right now.” Moehling said tomatoes are currently selling between $3 and $4 per box.*

But farmers need to sell a box of tomatoes for closer to $11 to break even, according to Tony DiMare, president of DiMare Homestead, which owns over 4,000 acres of tomato farms in Florida and California. American farmers haven’t been able to out-compete cheaper Mexican tomatoes currently flooding the market, DiMare told WVSN.*

Even though the tariffs on Mexican imports never took effect for goods compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, including U.S. tomatoes, the threat of tariffs alone was enough to disrupt the U.S. market, DiMare told WVSN. “The Mexican industry exported, in some cases, double and triple the daily volumes to beat being subject to the 25 percent tariff in February and March and the 10 percent tariffs in April. That just devastated our markets in the U.S.,” DiMare said.

To protect U.S. tomato farmers from the harm caused by tariff policies, Trump plans to impose an import duty of 20.91 percent on most tomato imports from Mexico starting in July. The action, which will end a 2019 trade agreement establishing a minimum price on Mexican imported tomatoes, is expected to drive up the cost of tomatoes for U.S. consumers, according to Michael Strain, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

https://reason.com/2025/05/12/trumps-tariffs-and-immigration-policies-destroy-thousands-of-acres-of-tomato-crops-in-florida/

Granted I am not a farmer but I cannot understand why no income is better than some.

Will these farmers get government subsidies because of the loss of crops?

If someone can explain the economics behind this destruction then please do so for me it makes little sense.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Farming Ain’t Easy

Americans farmers are looking at dismal time….tariffs and loss of business is straining their very existence….and the government is really not stepping up to help protect our struggling farmers.

Times are tough for many Americans and even worse for the farmers that we depend on for our food supply.

A quick look at recent ‘deals’…..

“I thought it would be easier by now.” So says Jacob Thomas of the 10 years he and wife Jennifer have spent farming land in northeast Kansas. Their 70-year-old family farm—spanning 15 acres of vegetables and over 500 acres for hay and livestock—relies in part on farmers markets and federal programs to stay afloat. This year, the couple absorbed an $8,000 loss—a 10% hit to them—after the Trump administration cut $1 billion from a pair of federal programs that routed locally grown and raised produce and meat to schools and food banks. A separate $750,000 federal agriculture grant they planned to use to build a warehouse that would allow them to expand their business was paused.

Though the grant was later reinstated, construction costs have since gone up and the building timeline has changed, putting the project “in limbo,” writes Annie Gowen for the Washington Post. Gowen touches on the underlying political tension: Many in this Republican-leaning area voted for Trump and are feeling frustrated by the administration’s moves and, in the case of Thomas, let down by their own local congressmen.

“Historically, if you got a government contract, we’re golden, because the government always pays,” Jacob said. “For the first time in my life, I don’t trust the government is going to follow through on their word.” The family’s woes are spilling out of the financial realm: Gowen notes Jacob started treatment for depression and anxiety last fall; “financial insecurity makes my depression worse,” he says. Jennifer now avoids discussing finances in front of their two young daughters.

I recall back in the day when Donny pledged to help the American farmer…..so fare I have not seen any help on the horizon…..

Donald Trump may have won the votes of the US’s most farming-dependent counties by an average of 78% in the 2024 election. But the moves made by his administration in the past few months – imposing steep tariffs, immigration policies that target the migrant labor farmers rely on, and canceling a wide range of USDA programs – have left many farmers reeling.

“The policies of the Trump administration are wreaking havoc on family farmers. It’s been terrible,” said John Bartman, a row crop farmer in Illinois. Bartman is owed thousands of dollars for sustainable practices he implemented on his row crop operation as part of the USDA’s Climate-Smart program.

And he’s not the only one. Other farmers across the country are reporting that the Trump administration’s policies have destroyed their markets by ending programs that help farmers sell their produce to local schools and food banks; implementing draconian immigration policies that destabilize the farm labor pool; and generally creating volatility that makes it hard for farmers to plan ahead.

(check it out…..)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/23/trump-farmers-policy

Tariffs and loss of agriculture is just what some greedy Fat Cats are counting on….

Do we turn our backs on American farmers?

The administration has.

How can any farmer still support this lying scumbag?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

News From The UK

IST has a some UK visitors which I appreciate very much but most of my writings are about this country and our problems and events…..so I would like to write about a couple of stories I read that involve the UK.

First there is the news about Prince Charles….oh my bad he is a king now…..it has been reported that he has cancer and now he is refusing chemo….

Buckingham Palace announced in February that the King had been diagnosed with cancer, and his treatment has included some challenging moments, including a brief hospitalization just days before the Italian tour. Despite this, he returned to his duties by April 1, determined to stay engaged.

According to royal sources, Charles sees his role not just as ceremonial, but as an opportunity to make a real difference. “He knows he is fortunate to be in a position to create change,” a senior aide shared. “That’s what keeps him going, impact, not obligation.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/surprising-reason-king-charles-not-171832554.html

Is he really that concerned about the optics of stating his cancer or is it to avoid any speculation at the length of time he has left?

Just asking.

I see the Andrew has taken over the title of King Charles from his father….

Does that mean he gets all the benefits of being the king (for now)?

Now how about the deal for more US beef?

The Prez and the PM have a deal now for sending American beef to English markets….is that a good idea?

Officials in Britain are worried contaminated beef from the U.S. could soon be flooding their supermarket shelves, RadarOnline.com can report.

However, the same beef is widely produced stateside, and many of us eat it willingly every day.

A new trade deal agreed to by the two nations will see 13,000 tons of U.S. beef shipped to the U.K. – enough meat to serve one medium-sized steak to every adult in the country.

However, consumers overseas are fearful the much more leniently regulated U.S. beef will contaminate their supply.

A common practice in the U.S. is for farmers to raise hormone-treated beef. These cattle are injected with growth hormones to accelerate muscle growth and shorten the time to slaughter, thereby increasing production efficiency and reducing costs.

But the practice has been linked to concerns such as early puberty in children and increased cancer risks.

While the hormone beef is prevalent on our store shelves, Great Britain has banned it since 1989, when the EU declared it unsafe.

https://radaronline.com/p/donald-trump-food-deal-uk-contaminated-beef-supermarket/

There was one thing I admired about the UK/EU….their ban on genetically modified products…..what has happened to that excellent idea?

I realize there is so much more that I have missed and if anyone would like to add something please leave a comment for I would love to here about the stuff that does not make it over here.

Just my small way of showing my UK readers that they are not forgotten here on IST.

Thanks for the visits and the comments.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

US Farmers Plead

The president-elect has promised to massively deport immigrants on day one….and that is yet to be seen….but US farmers are in a panic at the possible loss of workers….what to do?  What to do?

Beg….comes to mind….

As Donald Trump’s second presidential transition hurtles forward, his plan to mass-deport undocumented immigrants is causing farmers to panic — and, tellingly, to beg for exemptions.

With undocumented farmworkers potentially being targeted in the vague incoming immigration raids, lobbying groups are proposing expanded legal pathways to help undocumented agricultural workers attain visas.

“We need the certainty, reliability, and affordability of a workforce program and programs that are going to allow us to continue to deliver food from the farm to the table,” John Hollay of the International Fresh Produce Association told Reuters.

During his last turn at the head of ICE, Homan became infamous for defending the first Trump administration’s cruel family separation policy. In light of his second incoming stint with the president-elect, some farmer advocates are using that rhetoric against the proposed policy.

In an interview with Newsweek, dairy farmer Jennifer Tilton Flood of the Flood Brothers Farm in Maine said that because her family’s facilities are located close to the United States’ border with Canada, it’s “within the control” of Customs and Border Patrol. As such, that department could potentially act “without due diligence” to deport the people who work there.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/farmers-deportation-cheap-labor-trump

Is their concern the loss of workers or the loss of cheap labor?

Trump may listen if the huge agribusiness talks but if it is just the little farmer they may just bend over a accept their fate for their vote.

Will the farmers keep their cheap labor?

Will the decision be a shot at the consumer yet again?

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Grow Your Own

Another hot Sunday and my search for something akin to FYI was in vain so this is my next best thing.

For the last couple of decades I have had a small garden to grow tomatoes, greens, carrots, radish, cucumbers…and lots of fruit trees….tangerines, satsumas, plums and figs and a few blueberry plants…..nothing to write home about but it keeps us in fresh grown food for several months….always a welcome treat.

This year because of a very mild winter the field mouse population has exploded and they in turn look to me for their food supply….my two pups do a find job of protecting the garden but they can only work so fast….I am thinking of training them to use pellet rifles.

I have a problem with all the GMO stuff….I am old so I remember what a fresh peach, tomato, plum, etc should taste like and the ‘fresh’ stuff in grocery stores does not come close.

Stop all this whining and get to the point, right?

I wish something could be done to change all that….well sports fans one Dem is trying and has been for 26 years…

Each year for the last 26 years – nearly his entire tenure in the US Congress – Earl Blumenauer has advocated for a law that would utterly transform US agriculture.

Nearly every time, though, his proposals have been shut down. Even so, he persists.

Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon, wants to see a version of US agriculture that centers people, animals and the environment, rather than the large-scale, energy-intensive commodity crop farms that currently receive billions of dollars in subsidies. In effect, he has a completely different vision for how 40% of the country’s land looks and works.

“Every year is an uphill battle. We’re up against entrenched, wealthy, strong interests,” said Blumenauer, known for his signature bowtie, circular glasses and bicycle enamel pin. He’s the spitting image of a progressive environmentalist and doesn’t shy from discussing some of agriculture’s most divisive issues.

But he remains optimistic and steadfast in his vision for the American food system. Now more than ever, he feels momentum and support surrounding the future of farming and food production. People care about where their food comes from and what kind of impact their food is having on the climate, he says.

Blumenauer’s newest plan, the Food and Farm Act, was introduced earlier this year, as an alternative to the farm bill – the package of food and agricultural policies passed every five years that is up for renewal this fall. His proposal would redirect billions of dollars away from subsidies for commodity farms towards programs that support small farmers, climate-friendly agriculture and increasing healthy food access.

The bill also prioritizes food waste management and animal welfare – areas that have been completely neglected by previous iterations of the farm bill.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/26/earl-blumenauer-agriculture-farm-bill-congress

All Dems should step away from their paymasters at Big Agri and get on board with a bill that makes sense.

It is a shame that I learned of this from a UK newspaper…apparently agribusiness has its claws in the MSM as well as Congress.

We all should be in support of this effort for it makes a lot of sense (maybe that is why it is not popular).

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

Enjoy your Sunday and as always be well and be safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

All Those Cow Farts

I can recall from a decade of more ago when cows were being blamed for all the global warming…..oh sorry climate change because they eat a lot of fiber and supposedly do a lot of farting.

Does anyone else remember this?

There were even some that blamed the demise of the dinosaur because of their massive consumption and of course their farting….sorry again I digress.

Long a target of environmentalists due to its purported negative effects on the global environment, cattle farming has lately been pilloried by eco-activists for its alleged hastening of warming across the planet due to the high levels of greenhouse gasses that the industry produces every year. 

Yet a relatively small but growing body of research suggests that certain types of cattle farming— namely, those in which cows are raised on pastures for their whole lives as opposed to in feedlots — may actually have a carbon-negative effect on the environment by helping to sequester greenhouse grasses under well-managed grasslands. 

The vast majority of beef produced in the U.S. is sourced in feedlots in which cattle are fed primarily corn and grains, a diet which hastens their fattening and prepares them for slaughter much earlier than traditional methods.

Environmentalists have criticized those systems as ecologically ruinous due to their heavy carbon footprints, citing in part their dependence on chemically fertilized cattle feed and the copious amounts of methane that cows emit in the form of burps and flatulence.

https://justthenews.com/nation/science/beef-takes-beating-environmentalists-research-suggests-cows-can-actually-climate

Stop blaming cows for the problem….assign blame where it belongs….the technique used by the ranchers.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

But are cows the culprit?

 

Biden And Rural America

We now have a new president-elect and I looking at issues that he, Biden, needs to focus on to get this country back to some sort of normal…..

Most of us don’t think about Rural America much these days….our little lives are focused in the cities and its surrounding regions…..but Rural America is suffering many problems and not all are the pandemic that the whole country is fighting these days.

A group has given the Biden/Harris team a blueprint for the revitalization of Rural America…..

In order to create “a rural America where everyone has the opportunity to share in the prosperity they help build,” the paper urged Biden and Harris to address five key issues:

  • Intentionally involving rural Americans in the movement for a more just economy and food system;
  • Rooting out systemic racism and creating opportunity for all;
  • Democratizing the agrifood system;
  • Combating climate change through rural innovation; and
  • Modernizing rural infrastructure and investing in its people.

The revitalization plan argued that “today, a handful of corporations and their CEOs have the power to dictate who gets to farm, what they farm, and who gets to eat.”

“If rural America is to be a thriving hub of economic opportunity for all,” the authors wrote, “we must do more to end the stranglehold monopoly corporations have over our rural economies and end the wealth gap that exists.”

Click to access Family-Farm-Action-Roadmap-for-Rural-America-Biden-Harris-min_compressed.pdf

I will be watching to see if the Biden/Harris team are more than slogans and idle words…..

Watch This This Blog!

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Farmers Get Help

Yesterday Our Beloved Supreme Leader had a presser to announce his aid to the American farmer that may have trouble with the tariffs……and they all bow down……

With more than a dozen farmers at his side, President Trump announced a $16 billion aid package to compensate farmers for their losses in the trade war with China. “This support for farmers will be paid for by the billions of dollars the Treasury takes in” from China, he said. That’s not the way it works, the Washington Post points out: China does not pay the tariffs; importers do. Some importers then pass the cost on to American consumers. The administration had announced $12 billion in emergency measures in July. The relief announced Thursday will be distributed to farmers in three installments, with the first payment in July or August, the others in November and January 2020, if the tariffs are still in place.

Randy Spronk, a hog farmer and past president of the National Pork Producers Council who attended the White House meeting, said farmers realize the aid will not make up for their losses in a trade war. “But it makes enough of a difference to keep a lot of farmers so they can survive,” Spronk said, per the Post. The aid for farmers will ultimately come from taxpayers, said one expert, ABC reports. “Do the Chinese pay some of the tariff? Yes, probably in specific cases,” he said. “Do they pay most of it? No, the consumer pays most of it ultimately.” The American Farm Bureau and the National Farmers Union said that they appreciate the help, but that farmers would prefer to have a long-term trade deal with China.

This money was offered last Summer….and I agree with whoever said…”if tariffs hurt farmers then welfare is not the answer”……as always…I have written about the announcement a year ago……https://lobotero.com/2018/09/21/closing-thought-21sep18/

God knows our farmers need the help….but not everyone sees this politicial ploy as the answer to that problem……

President Donald Trump’s snap decision to send billions of dollars in new aid to farmers could be bad for the farm economy and the federal budget.

Many farmers are still deciding what to plant this spring and could be swayed toward crops that receive higher payouts from the aid package, such as soybeans. That would add to already record supplies and further depress prices that have been falling for five year

But the Trump administration’s decision to roll out the program now is drawing critics.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, told reporters Wednesday that the White House should have been more cautious about the timing of the announcement because farmers are still planting.

“[W]e want farmers to make decisions on how many acres of corn and soybeans to plant based on the market and not something the government’s doing,” he said.

“The timing couldn’t have been worse,” said Jonathan Coppess, an agricultural policy professor at the University of Illinois, and a former head of the USDA Farm Service Agency during the Obama administration.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/23/trump-farmer-bailout-trade-usda-1459840

Our farmers do not want the ‘welfare’ they prefer to earn their money….keep one thing in mind….agri-business also will get this ‘welfare’ and that who it is truly protecting.

Where are the deficit hawks?  They have plenty to say when food stamps are on the agenda….where are they now?