Latest / Uncensored Objection / [Podcast Episode] Broken Promises and Rotting Crops: How Trump’s 2025 Trade Agenda Is Crushing America’s Farmers

Transcript

[Podcast Episode] Broken Promises and Rotting Crops: How Trump’s 2025 Trade Agenda Is Crushing America’s Farmers · Uncensored Objection

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the deep dive.
• 0:01
  Today,
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  we're tackling a really significant issue,
• 0:04
  one that's hitting a vital part of America.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's farms.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 0:09
  And we're basing our discussion on a piece from attorney Mitch
• 0:13
  Jackson's uncensored
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: objections substack.
• 0:16
  He often unpacks political news and its,
• 0:19
  you know,
• 0:19
  real world consequences.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: And this piece specifically looks at the impact of,
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: well,
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  current trade policies under the Trump administration on
• 0:28
  American farmers.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: And you flagged this because you're keen,
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  SPEAKER_00: like many of our listeners,
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  to understand how these big national decisions actually play
• 0:36
  out on the ground.
• 0:37
  Yeah,
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  especially when it affects something as fundamental as food production.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: We want to try and cut through the,
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: let's say,
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: the political noise and see what's really happening.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: OK,
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  SPEAKER_00: so the core issue,
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  SPEAKER_00: according to the article,
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  is that America's farmers are facing some serious hardship
• 0:52
  because of these trade policies.
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  SPEAKER_01: particularly tariffs and protectionist measures.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right.
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  So we'll explore how that's hitting their livelihoods and the
• 1:00
  whole agricultural landscape.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: So let's start with the immediate impact.
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  SPEAKER_01: The article gives some pretty vivid examples, doesn't it?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: It does.
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  SPEAKER_00: It talks about,
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  SPEAKER_00: for instance,
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  SPEAKER_00: an Iowa soybean farmer,
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  SPEAKER_00: third generation,
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  SPEAKER_00: I think,
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  SPEAKER_00: whose silos are just overflowing.
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  SPEAKER_01: With beans that used to go to China.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
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  SPEAKER_00: Unsold beans.
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  And then there's the Wisconsin dairy family mentioned having to
• 1:21
  dump milk.
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  SPEAKER_00: It paints a really tough picture.
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  SPEAKER_01: And the point is, these aren't just like isolated stories.
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  SPEAKER_00: No, not according to the source.
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  SPEAKER_00: It suggests this is pretty widespread,
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  SPEAKER_00: especially across the Midwest and other rural communities,
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  SPEAKER_00: too.
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  SPEAKER_01: So how does that work?
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  SPEAKER_01: The article explains the retaliatory tariff mechanism, right?
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: It lays it out pretty clearly.
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  SPEAKER_00: Basically, when the U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: puts tariffs on goods from other countries.
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  SPEAKER_01: Like China, Mexico, the EU.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right.
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  SPEAKER_00: Those countries often hit back with their own tariffs.
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  SPEAKER_00: And crucially, they often target American agriculture.
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  SPEAKER_00: It becomes a sort of trade tit for tat.
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  And the article gives concrete examples of markets we've lost
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  because of this.
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  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
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  SPEAKER_00: China and U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: soybeans is the big one.
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  SPEAKER_00: China was our biggest buyer by far.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then they slapped on huge tariffs.
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  SPEAKER_00: making our soybeans way too expensive for them.
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  SPEAKER_00: So that market, poof, basically closed off almost overnight.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to grasp the scale, millions of tons annually.
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  SPEAKER_01: Just gone.
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  SPEAKER_01: What does that actually mean for a farmer?
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's devastating.
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  SPEAKER_00: The article describes storage bins full, nowhere to sell it profitably.
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  SPEAKER_00: Prices drop, sometimes below what it even costs to grow it.
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  SPEAKER_01: Which is just unsustainable.
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  SPEAKER_00: Completely.
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  SPEAKER_00: And there's that heartbreaking example from Louisiana,
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  a grower plowing under a thousand acres of soybeans because
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  there was just no market.
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  SPEAKER_00: Imagine that.
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  SPEAKER_01: A whole year's work just gone back into the ground.
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  SPEAKER_01: That really drives home the crisis.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't just soybeans, was it?
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  SPEAKER_00: No, no.
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  SPEAKER_00: Corn producers felt it.
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  SPEAKER_00: Hog farmers, too.
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  SPEAKER_00: Mexico put tariffs on U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: pork in response to our tariffs.
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  SPEAKER_01: And Mexico is a big market for our pork.
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  SPEAKER_00: A very significant one.
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  SPEAKER_00: So suddenly U.S.
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  pork producers had this surplus,
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  couldn't sell it all domestically,
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  and prices just tanked.
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  SPEAKER_01: And dairy farmers, they were already struggling, weren't they?
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  SPEAKER_00: They were.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then retaliatory terrorists hit things like cheese and whey exports.
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  SPEAKER_00: That just made a tough situation even worse.
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  So you get stories of farmers dumping milk because these
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  international markets vanished.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, truly demoralizing.
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  SPEAKER_00: And sadly,
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  SPEAKER_00: the article notes many dairy farms,
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  SPEAKER_00: especially smaller family ones,
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  SPEAKER_00: have been forced to close down completely.
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  SPEAKER_01: What really strikes me is the long term damage.
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  SPEAKER_01: The article points out these markets took decades to build.
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  SPEAKER_00: Decades of relationship building, trade missions, proving reliability.
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  SPEAKER_01: And they can be damaged so quickly by these disputes.
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  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
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  SPEAKER_00: And once lost, they're hard to get back.
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  So farmers are led selling into an oversupplied home market at
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  rock bottom prices
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  SPEAKER_00: or just watching crops decay.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's a massive blow.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it's not just that their income is down, right?
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  SPEAKER_01: The article talks about costs going up, too.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's the other side of the squeeze.
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  SPEAKER_00: Those tariffs the U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: put on imported steel and aluminum.
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  SPEAKER_01: Intended to help U.S.
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  SPEAKER_01: industry.
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  SPEAKER_00: Ended up making things more expensive for carmers.
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  SPEAKER_00: Things like machinery, equipment, silos, you name it.
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  SPEAKER_01: The article had that example of a tractor price jump.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: From something like $150,000 to over $200,000.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's a huge capital expense increase for a farm.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it's not just new stuff, is it?
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  SPEAKER_01: Even parts for repairs.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right.
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  Many replacement parts are sourced internationally,
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  so they got hit by import taxes,
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  too.
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  SPEAKER_01: So farmers try to keep older gear running or buy used.
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  But then demand for used equipment goes up,
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  and so do the prices there as well.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's tough to find savings.
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  SPEAKER_01: And fertilizer costs.
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  SPEAKER_01: That's another big one.
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  SPEAKER_00: Huge input cost.
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  SPEAKER_00: The article mentions potash from Canada,
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  SPEAKER_00: specifically getting caught up in trade tensions,
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  SPEAKER_00: leading to higher prices.
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  SPEAKER_01: And domestic companies raise prices too?
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  SPEAKER_00: Seems that way.
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  SPEAKER_00: So some farmers, the article says, are cutting back on fertilizer.
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  SPEAKER_01: Which could hurt their yields later on.
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  SPEAKER_01: It's a vicious cycle.
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  SPEAKER_00: It really is.
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  So you've got this double whammy,
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  as the article puts it,
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  earning less,
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  paying more.
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  SPEAKER_01: Shrinking margins, maybe disappearing margins.
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  SPEAKER_01: One farmer quoted said something like,
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  SPEAKER_01: everything we buy costs more,
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  SPEAKER_01: everything we sell earns less.
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  Yeah,
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  it sounds like running up a down escalator,
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  basically,
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  an uphill battle.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then there are the supply chain problems on top of all that.
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  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: The trade policy shifts,
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  SPEAKER_00: the renegotiations,
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  SPEAKER_00: it created a lot of chaos in moving agricultural goods.
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  It's not just the price impact of tariffs,
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  but the actual logistics getting messed up.
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  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sudden changes mean log jams at ports, delays in shipping.
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  SPEAKER_00: The article shares some anecdotes.
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  SPEAKER_01: I remember reading about a Missouri farmer waiting for pesticide.
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  Yeah,
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  critical pesticide held up at the port due to new inspection
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  rules from the terrace.
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  SPEAKER_01: By the time it arrived... Crop damage was already done.
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  SPEAKER_00: Significant crop loss, yeah.
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  And the California fruit grower,
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  whose irrigation part got stuck in custom.
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  SPEAKER_01: During a heat wave, that's devastating.
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  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
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  SPEAKER_00: Orchards without water at a critical time means lost fruit, lost income.
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  SPEAKER_00: These aren't small hiccups.
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  SPEAKER_01: The article also mentioned erratic seed deliveries,
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  SPEAKER_01: delays in getting new equipment,
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  SPEAKER_01: spare parts.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in farming, timing is just everything, isn't it?
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  SPEAKER_00: Missing your planting window or having a harvester breakdown mid-harvest.
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  SPEAKER_01: Can ruin your whole year.
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  SPEAKER_00: Easily.
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  So these supply chain issues just add another layer of stress
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  and directly hurt productivity.
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  So if you put it all together,
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  lost markets,
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  rising costs,
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  supply chain headaches.
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  SPEAKER_01: It leads to serious financial trouble, right?
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  SPEAKER_00: Inevitably.
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  SPEAKER_00: The article explains farm incomes have dropped for many.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's harder to pay back loans.
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  SPEAKER_00: Debt levels in the ag sector are rising.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it draws that worrying comparison to the 1980s farm crisis.
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  SPEAKER_00: It does.
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  SPEAKER_00: Different causes back then,
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  SPEAKER_00: maybe high interest rates were the main driver,
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  SPEAKER_00: but the result feels similar.
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  SPEAKER_00: Family farms pushed to the edge.
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  SPEAKER_01: And farm bankruptcies are actually increasing.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
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  The article cites figures showing they've hit highs not seen in
• 6:58
  nearly a decade in some regions.
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  SPEAKER_00: Especially dairy farms in the upper Midwest seem particularly hard hit.
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  SPEAKER_01: And beyond bankruptcy,
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  SPEAKER_01: there are farmers restructuring debt,
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  SPEAKER_01: maybe selling off land just to survive.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right.
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  SPEAKER_00: Difficult conversations with lenders.
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  And it's crucial to remember,
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  as the piece emphasizes,
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  this isn't just a business closing.
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  SPEAKER_01: It's often a multi-generational family farm.
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  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
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  SPEAKER_00: A whole way of life, a family heritage lost.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the ripple effects in rural towns,
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  SPEAKER_00: the feed store,
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  SPEAKER_00: the implement dealer,
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  SPEAKER_00: the local bank,
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  SPEAKER_00: everyone suffers.
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  SPEAKER_01: There's a real risk of losing a generation of farmers.
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  SPEAKER_00: And once those farms are gone,
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  SPEAKER_00: the article points out bringing them back is incredibly hard,
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  SPEAKER_00: maybe impossible.
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  SPEAKER_01: While all this is happening to U.S.
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  SPEAKER_01: farmers, what about competitors?
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  SPEAKER_01: Are other countries benefiting?
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  SPEAKER_00: That's a key point the article makes.
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  SPEAKER_00: When the U.S.
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  becomes a less reliable supplier due to trade disputes,
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  other countries step right in.
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  SPEAKER_01: Like Brazil and Argentina with soybeans and corn.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Precisely.
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  SPEAKER_00: They're ramping up production,
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  increasing exports to places like China and Mexico that used to
• 7:59
  buy more from us.
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  SPEAKER_00: Brazil in particular is highlighted.
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  SPEAKER_01: Sending record amounts of soybeans to China now.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, China has really shifted its buying towards South America.
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  SPEAKER_01: And the worry is that shift might be permanent, even if the tariffs end.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's the concern raised.
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  Buyers like China might stick with suppliers like Brazil,
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  who proved reliable when the U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: was, let's say, unpredictable.
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  SPEAKER_00: Trust and consistency matter in global trade.
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  SPEAKER_01: And competitors are investing to solidify their position.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
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  Brazil's investing heavily in infrastructure ports rail to
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  boost their export
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  SPEAKER_00: capacities long term.
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  So the risk is America losing its long held leadership role in
• 8:38
  global agriculture.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's the potential long term consequence the article warns about.
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  SPEAKER_00: It affects not just the economy, but potentially U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: influence, too.
• 8:47
  OK,
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  there's another major issue the article brings up,
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  the labor shortage.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yes,
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  SPEAKER_00: that's a huge piece of the puzzle,
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  SPEAKER_00: especially for fruit and vegetable farms,
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  SPEAKER_00: but also dairy.
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  SPEAKER_00: They rely heavily on immigrant labor.
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  SPEAKER_01: And stricter immigration policies are making that labor harder to find.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's what the article argues.
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  SPEAKER_00: It gives examples.
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  Crops left rotting in fields in California and Washington
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  because there aren't
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  SPEAKER_00: enough workers to pick them.
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  SPEAKER_01: Citrus growers in Florida scaling back plantings.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, due to labor uncertainty.
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  SPEAKER_00: Dairy farms also struggle to find year-round help.
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  And the article even mentions the possibility of farmers moving
• 9:22
  operations out of
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  SPEAKER_01: the country to fine labor.
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  SPEAKER_00: Which the author finds particularly concerning, obviously.
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  It highlights warnings from the farm community about cracking
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  down on immigrant
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  SPEAKER_00: labor without a viable alternative plan.
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  SPEAKER_01: The existing guest worker program, H-2A, has limitations.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's often described as cumbersome,
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  SPEAKER_00: expensive,
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  SPEAKER_00: and not flexible enough for the realities of farming.
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  So this labor shortage could mean higher food prices for
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  consumers eventually.
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  SPEAKER_00: Potentially, yes.
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  SPEAKER_00: Or more reliance on imported food, which raises other questions.
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  And finally,
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  the article touches on the instability of farm policy itself.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the unpredictable nature of it all.
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  SPEAKER_00: Tariffs announced, then maybe changed, then reimposed.
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  SPEAKER_00: It creates enormous uncertainty.
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  SPEAKER_01: Makes it really hard for farmers to plan to invest for the future.
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  SPEAKER_00: Very difficult.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then there were the government bailouts, the tariff relief payments.
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  SPEAKER_01: Which the article presents as sort of a temporary band-aid.
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  SPEAKER_00: Right, and an uneven one at that.
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  SPEAKER_00: Most farmers quoted say they'd much rather have trade than aid.
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  SPEAKER_01: It must be demoralizing, needing subsidies because of policy decisions.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
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  SPEAKER_00: And it can distort the market,
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  SPEAKER_00: too,
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  if planning decisions start being based on potential government
• 10:32
  payments instead of
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  SPEAKER_00: actual market demand.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: So summing up the argument from Mitch Jackson's piece here,
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: the policies intended,
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: perhaps,
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: to help certain sectors ended up hurting farmers significantly.
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  SPEAKER_00: That seems to be the central thesis,
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  that the very people perhaps meant to be helped or shielded are
• 10:51
  bearing a heavy burden.
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  SPEAKER_01: With wide implications for rural America,
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  SPEAKER_01: the economy,
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: even our national identity tied to farming.
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  And potentially hitting consumers in the wallet down the line
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  or increasing our
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: dependence on foreign food sources.
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  SPEAKER_01: The article calls for voters to really consider these consequences,
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  SPEAKER_01: right,
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  SPEAKER_01: to hold leaders accountable.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
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  SPEAKER_00: urging a shift towards,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
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  common sense and competence and policymaking that affects such
• 11:16
  a vital sector.
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  SPEAKER_01: And reiterating that farmers just want a fair shot to compete.
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  SPEAKER_01: They don't want handouts.
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  They want stable markets and predictable policies so they can
• 11:24
  do what they do best.
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  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so that's a deep dive into the challenges outlined in the article.
• 11:29
  Lost markets,
• 11:30
  rising costs,
• 11:31
  supply chain snarls,
• 11:32
  labor shortages,
• 11:34
  policy instability.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's a complex web.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the potential long-term consequences,
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  SPEAKER_00: as we've discussed,
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: are serious for farms,
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: for rural communities,
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: for the nation's food security.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: It definitely makes you think, doesn't it?
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  How much our daily lives rely on the health of American
• 11:50
  agriculture and what
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: happens if these trends aren't reversed?
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  What role can informed citizens play in maybe pushing for
• 11:59
  policies that are more supportive,
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: more sustainable for our farmers going forward?
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's a big question.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
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  SPEAKER_01: Something to ponder.
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  SPEAKER_00: And look,
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: for a much deeper understanding of this specific issue,
• 12:09
  and to keep up with Mitch Jackson's analysis of current events
• 12:12
  as they unfold,
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: you really should check out his Uncensored Objections substack.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: Subscribe so you get his latest insights.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: And share the articles.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Help get these perspectives out there.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: And join the discussion in the comments section, too.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's important these stories, the real impact on farmers, are heard.