'We did not vote for this': Trump-backing farmers in 'state of shock' over tariff chaos

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Raw Story

March 14, 2025 7:50AM ET


The nonstop chaos that President Donald Trump is delivering with his erratic tariff policies and spending cuts is already hurting many farmers who voted for him in the 2024 presidential election.

In an interview with NBC News, West Virginia farmer Jennifer Gilkerson revealed that cuts to a key United States Department of Agriculture program have left her with a large stash of unsold freeze-dried fruits that she had spent thousands of dollars producing under the assumption that they would be bought by local schools.

“We’re just in such a state of shock," she told NBC. "We just don’t really even know how to respond to all this. We thought that this was sacred and really untouchable. So it’s just quite a shock and very devastating. Everyone thinks all farmers voted for this, but we did not vote for this."

Iowa farmer Bob Hemesath, meanwhile, told NBC that he cannot handle a long-term trade war with America's top trading partners. "I know that this is the way President Trump believes he’s going to create better markets long term," he said. "I hope he’s correct. But my fear is that once you lose those markets to other suppliers, it’s very hard to get them back."

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-farmers-2671327372/

---

You voted to get rid of the "illegals" and "woke" and "DEI" and to "own the libs". Everyone saw what happened with the tariff fiasco during the first term (which at that time was ONLY China), so why anyone would expect that this wouldn't happen again is naive - especially since this time, it's global. You just wait until they slash through that Farm Bill. I am sorry for all the farmers who are Democrats who are paying a price for those who voted for the face-eating Leopard party and thought they were "one of the leopards".

[SSJVegeta]

1. "Stupid is as stupid does"

[B.See]

92. They Absolutely DID vote for this...

Because Trump did this to them during his LAST occupation, yet they all skedaddled out to vote for him again.

Serves em right, imo.

[SSJVegeta]

110. Ive made horrible mistakes before too.

But usually learn the first time after something as horrible as Trump (like burning my groin with an iron, or wilingly stepping on sharded glass). If they don't learn after this, I don't know what to say about this country...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

127. Yup. tRump had to use taxpayer dollars. The bill came to ONE THIRD of farm income

In July 2018, the Trump administration announced it would use a Great Depression-era program, the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), to pay farmers up to $12 billion, increasing the transfers to farmers to $28 billion in May 2019.[13] The USDA estimated that aid payments constituted more than one-third of total farm income in 2019 and 2020.[14][15]

A study published in fall 2019 in the Journal of Economic Perspectives found that by December 2018, Trump's tariffs resulted in a reduction in aggregate U.S. real income of $1.4 billion per month in deadweight losses, and cost U.S. consumers an additional $3.2 billion per month in added tax.[24] The study's authors noted that these were conservative measures of the losses from the tariffs, because they did not take account of the tariffs' effects in reducing the variety of products available to consumers, or the tariff-related costs attributable to policy uncertainty or the fixed costs incurred by companies to reorganize their global supply chains.[24] A study by Federal Reserve Board economists found that the tariffs reduced employment in the American manufacturing sector.[206][207]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Trump_tariffs

[B.See]

132. That's right. And even after the bailouts,

Many farmers suffered and some even LOST THEIR FARMS, quiet as Trump's s--- is always kept, relatively speaking.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

133. One goal of tRump & Oligarch destruction of government is to buy up farms of bankrupt farmers, so first bankrupt them.nt

[NotHardly]

97. No empathy until it hits them... amusing & sad, but f*ck them.

[Midnight Writer]

2. There are none so blind as those that choose not to see.

[brush]

16. Yep, they didn't vote for their crops and money going to rot and waste...

but they did vote for trump. Too bad, they FAFO. Rethus'll do it to you every time.

[BattleRow]

36. WillFULLY deaf,dumb,AND blind.

[Trust_Reality]

44. They voted for a 34-times convicted fraudster

Not to mention numerous additional accusations.
Twice impeached.
And numerous other indications of missing integrity.
Voting like a fool has consequences.

[kerouac2]

3. Uh, yes you actually did vote for this and...

Since you're a farmer, you can reap what you sow.

[mwmisses4289]

4. Agree 100%.

👍👏

[BattleRow]

33. And enlarge your hen house,lots of chickens returning to the roost.

[Bengus81]

5. So...you farmers going to vote for Democrats in the mid-terms??

Nah...they'll vote all Republicans just knowing it will all be different this time. You'd think some of these reporters might think to ask them that question just to watch them squirm.

[Old Crank]

12. Nice joke about them voting Democratic....

[travelingthrulife]

64. That's why it's so pointless to beat up on Democrats for the things done by Republicans.

It doesn't matter what Democrats say or how they say it. The problem is that 30+% of the country has been completely radicalized into hating Democrats by our media. They have been taught since Reagan to also disbelieve government documents and statistics. You cannot use facts with them.

They don't even know why they hate Democrats. Our response to Schumer proves to them that Democrats are bad. They are now even more likely to believe the bs spewed by the GOP. It is counterproductive.

[julmur]

76. Its

not just the media, it’s also a generational thing, racism & misogyny

[sop]

6. Reporters should follow up a response like "I didn't vote for this!" with "Well, what did you vote for?"

It's obvious what these folks voted for, but it would be revealing if they were forced to actually explain it..

[Renew Deal]

7. You did vote for this.

Maybe you didn't listen when he said he was going to throw around tariffs, but he told you and you supported it.

[SergeStorms]

98. They stopped listening......

after they heard "deport brown people," and "Murica first." After that they just switched back to AM Talk Radio and crop reports.

[Wingus Dingus]

8. WAIT, STOP!!! HE'S FUCKING OVER THE WRONG PEOPLE!!!

Sweet MAGA tears, feeding my soul.

[Ray Bruns]

18. Exactly.

[hvn_nbr_2]

49. Wwaaa-aaahh-hhh. I voted for leopards to eat those other people's faces. nt

[mwb970]

9. These people ALL voted for trump.

What morons.

[Prairie Gates]

10. Trump stated again and again that his primary economic policy was tariffs

This is beyond question. He did it at every speech.

Here's something Trump never said on the campaign (that I know of): We should annex Canada.

If people claimed to be surprised by that, I couldn't blame them. But the tariffs? He has been crystal clear on this. These people didn't want to listen because they wanted the other things, and they wanted to own the libs, and they wanted to feel superior. Trump was clear on tariffs.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. IIRC, he wanted to "replace income taxes with tariffs".

[BOSSHOG]

11. I didn't vote for "this" either, BUT

Trump doesn’t Love Me

[Vogon_Glory]

13. Yes you did vote for that

Rural farmers who voted for Trump DID vote for what is happening, whether they want to believe it or not. Electing Trump was a package deal, whether they want to admit it or not. That means they get ALL of it, not just some of it. They didn’t just get the immigrant-bashing and bigotry, but the wholesale whirlwind they’re going through because they chose to ignore the warnings and believed the lies: lies they knew came from a habitual liar.

My sympathy is limited: they should have known better.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

125. He did it to them in his first term. They are stupid to be surprised he did it to them again

Canada imposed matching retaliatory tariffs on July 1, 2018.[10][11] China implemented retaliatory tariffs equivalent to the $34 billion tariff imposed on it by the U.S.[12] In July 2018, the Trump administration announced it would use a Great Depression-era program, the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), to pay farmers up to $12 billion, increasing the transfers to farmers to $28 billion in May 2019.[13] The USDA estimated that aid payments constituted more than one-third of total farm income in 2019 and 2020.[14][15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Trump_tariffs

[Old Crank]

14. Sorry dude. He told you. We told you. Project 2025 told you

and you didn't believe he would do it to you, again.
This time you might not get welfare payments to stay in business like the last time.

I am hoping he will start rounding up the criminals who are hiring undocumented workers.

[Prairie Gates]

19. plato told

plato told

him:he couldn’t
believe it(jesus

told him;he
wouldn’t believe
it)lao

tsze
certainly told
him,and general
(yes

mam)
sherman;
and even
(believe it
or

not)you
told him:i told
him;we told him
(he didn’t believe it,no

sir)it took
a nipponized bit of
the old sixth

avenue
el;in the top of his head:to tell

him

[Justice matters.]

86. They still believed his LIES!

30,000+ documented LIES in his 1st term didn't make them "think"...

And their dear convicted felon's "democrat witch hunt" LIE about his criminal acts

And his irresponsible handling of a pandemic which caused 500K+ citizens to die needlessly

F*cking idiots!

[we can do it]

17. Boo hoo

[Americanme]

20. During trump's first term

he started a trade war, which hurt the farmers, and eventually made them welfare queens with the bailout. So they should have known what he would do in a second term. They definitely did vote for this.

[BumRushDaShow]

25. And that was a trade war with only ONE country - China

and NOT with Canada and Mexico, let alone globally.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

123. Wrong. tRump also put tariffs on Canada for about a year in 2018, there were global tariffs and retaliatory tariffs

He lifted them when he signed "his" USMCA (CMUSA) trade deal (NAFTA 2.0).

In January 2018, Trump imposed tariffs on solar panels and washing machines of 30–50%.[1] In March 2018, he imposed tariffs on steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) from most countries,[2][3][4] which, according to Morgan Stanley, covered an estimated 4.1% of U.S. imports.[5] In June 2018, this was extended to the European Union, Canada, and Mexico.[3] The Trump administration separately set and escalated tariffs on goods imported from China, leading to a trade war.[6]

... Canada imposed matching retaliatory tariffs on July 1, 2018.[10][11] ...

A May 2019 analysis conducted by CNBC found Trump's tariffs are equivalent to one of the largest tax increases in the U.S. in decades.[20][21][22] Studies have found that Trump's tariffs reduced real income in the United States, as well as adversely affecting U.S. GDP.[23][24][25] Some studies also concluded that the tariffs adversely affected Republican candidates in elections.[26][27][28]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Trump_tariffs

[BumRushDaShow]

124. Thank you

I had a bunch of LBN OPs with all the ridiculous laundry lists of China products across a wide array of products.

[k55f5r]

99. Only difference is

No welfare for farmers this time

[oldmanlynn]

21. Those farmers are probably like we didn't vote for this

They are definitely like we didn’t vote for this, but if we had to do it all over again, we’d vote for him again

[Autumn]

22. Yeah, you did fucking vote for it.

[CountAllVotes]

23. Oh yes, you did vote for this

You damned idiots!

I have no sympathy for any of you greedy, hateful fools.

You were told this would happen but you wanted MORE MONEY and you thought that Don the Con would do that for you.

A little shock and awe dare one suggest?

[Paladin]

24. Fuck you, trump-voting farmers.

And thanks for absolutely nothing.

[CountAllVotes]

28. but but buttt

Who will bail them out now?

Answer: NO ONE.

They made their beds and now they must learn to lay in them for the rest of their idiotic lives.

[BlueTsunami2018]

26. Yes you did.

We warned you.

Too bad, so sad.

[FakeNoose]

72. Yes they certainly did vote for this ...

... and we did try to warn them but they weren't listening.

[samsingh]

27. trump supporters voted for this and much worse - they just believed it would be other people being hurt

[Irish_Dem]

29. GD idiots.

What did they expect from a ruthless psychopath criminal and grifter.

[GoYouPackersGo]

30. Thoughts and prayers, morons

[LuvLoogie]

31. No you voted for mass deportation, denying reproductive rights,

police immunity, anti DEI, anti LGBTQ-BIPOC,
anti-Ukraine/pro-Russia

You voted white grievance, like you've been doing since Reagan.

[twodogsbarking]

32. To paraphrase The Dalai Lama "When you realize you have fucked up take immediate steps to correct it".

[Mr. Sparkle]

34. He was only supposed to hurt other people, not me

[Attilatheblond]

47. He even TOLD them he didn't need them, didn't care about them

What kind of parenting did these people get to be OK with that?

[harun]

35. Y'all were too drunk on nationalism and xenophobia to listen to the truth.

I am not optimistic you will sober up, but fingers crossed.

[Playingmantis]

37. No you didnt vote for this..

You voted to screw someone else over.. tough shit...no sympathy from me...reap what you have sown

[Hope22]

38. TSF clearly stated that he would use tariffs!

He could not have said it in plainer English! Now you have to deal with the disaster and we will all pay the price. But you weren’t worried because eventually your check always comes in the mail. Now this is the part where you find out. You did this! Hunger at home and across the planet. Disease will follow but at least you got to vote for all of the hate crap the R’s were selling.

[travelingthrulife]

69. Yup. Full immersion hate. They reveled in it.

[robleb]

39. BOO HOO

[Blue Full Moon]

40. They knew, they chose

The last time he was in office he screwed them over. They just had recovered last year. He repeatedly told them that he was putting tariffs in place again but more of them. Getting whacked upside the head is the only way they will wake up to tRump's lies.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/16/politics/video/ohio-farmer-chris-gibbs-republican-democratic-biden-lcl-digvid

I really do like this guy. He spoke at the statehouse at the protest on March 4th.

[IronLionZion]

41. Did they ignore his major campaign issues and his entire life?

Why do MAGAts act so surprised that he's doing this? He issued tariffs and trade wars in his first term too. He promised to cut government spending and has lots of Project 2025 people in his administration. It's 2025 now.

They expected he would screw someone else.

[NNadir]

42. To quote the character played by Samuel L. Jackson in "Pulp Fiction" before...

...shooting his victim, "Yes you did! Yes you did!"

You voted for what you got.

[Gum Logger]

43. This is what happens when you allow generations of inbreeding in a high arsenic environment.

[hadEnuf]

45. Awww, buyer's remorse.

These people shit all over Democrats who were CLEARLY trying to help and defend them and voted for the asshole who openly said he was going to do the opposite. They should be rejoicing.

[Botany]

46. Anybody see some farmer's faces?

BTW. Dumb ass mouthing breathing Krasnov voting farmers. Didn’t they see how the farmers
had to plow their crops underground because Krasnov’s first term was such a fucking train wreck?

[Raven123]

48. Ok, I couldn't help but chuckle at "sacred and untouchable "

To be clear, I am not gloating over the pain farmers are feeling, but “sacred and untouchable” is delusional. Sounds like a cult.

[BumRushDaShow]

50. It - and specifically the Farm Bill

WAS "untouchable" - until it renewed under Obama in 2013 and then the GOP had to do "opposite" and started delaying it and delaying it. Then they started delving into it to find out what was going on there with a sudden desire to eliminate SNAP (among other things). Now it will be open season on it. The 2023 one is already on its 2nd extension.

And none of that is counting what is going on with the tariffs!

[Hotler]

51. Jeez, stop whining and start pulling on those bootstraps. Personal responsibility and all that.

Seems to me you failed to plan.

[C_U_L8R]

52. Trump loves the uneducated.

Yet again.

[Upthevibe]

53. BumRushDaShow,,,,,,,,,,

I hope the shock wears off soon because then the pain comes.

The pain THEY voted to happen to others but not to themselves.....not one ounce of sympathy for them...

[underpants]

54. Yes. You. Did.

[kacekwl]

55. If you voted for trump

you voted exactly for this. Cry elsewhere dummy.

[Nasruddin]

56. Welcome them to the resistance

It’s fine to gloat in private, but in public we should be reaching out to these people.
Trump got their attention.

We need to find out more about why they voted for Trump and their Republican reps. What are those people giving them? If these voters are cultists there’s probably little value in working on them too much, but a few will flip hard.

Most of these people (I’m from this class) are like landed gentry. They talk poor, but they are not poor. They are not stupid, but their interests are local and focused and if they’re involved in local politics it is very local. Some of them are more like landlords, some absentee. They are really, really focused on money. They live well but there’s not enough margin to have much FU money. They are sort of like the upper middle class voters that Dems attract in the cities but there are some cultural differences, and many of them live in a very right wing bubble space.

[Wednesdays]

71. If we can tear them away from Faux Noise and talk radio long enough

As was pointed out above, 99% of them will still vote the same way in upcoming elections.

[LuckyLib]

111. Plus, they don't read. Any thinking person who reads

knew what the Dumpster was all about. Whenever a farmer sings the blues on a news program my hubby says, “Who’d you vote for, idiot?”

[Sneederbunk]

57. Reaping what they sow.

[ananda]

58. Earth to farmers: ermmm, yes you did!

Trump explicitly said that he would do all
the things he's done so far.

It was never a secret.

[murielm99]

59. We farm. We are Democrats.

We vote for Democrats and we are active here. There are several farmers on our central committee.

Go out and do something instead of griping about the people who oppose you. Before the midterms, those of you who can, contact some farmers and try to persuade them to vote for Democrats.

[orangecrush]

60. ...

?si=IK7bZfkoWnS_-lAT

[Wednesdays]

61. The face-eating Leopard party

I never thought leopards would eat MY face!

[UpInArms]

84. No pity

[Tootbsb]

62. The stupid burns. Good.

[Eva Jo]

63. Great slogan I saw the other day -

"Have the day you voted for."

[Trueblue Texan]

65. Midterm political sign:

”We told you so! Vote Democratic!”

[ToxMarz]

66. "I hope he's correct."

Says it all. If your really that stupid, or just a devout cult member, you should know your business better than Trump does and that he's NOT correct and hurting you badly. That these people will allow trump to destroy them rather that say anything to question him or contradict him is unbelievable. They deserve what they get, but WE DON'T

[patphil]

67. The trouble with Trump supporters is that they can't cherry pick the horrible stuff that Trump promised to do.

They zeroed in on the stuff they wanted him to do, and sort of zoned out on the other crap. Now they're beginning to see that when you bought Trump, you bought the whole 50 lb. sack of shit that comes with him.
It's their selective ignorance, selective stupidity, selective hate that's turned on them and bit them in the butt that will be the mark of Trump's "success" as president.
He told everyone what he was going to do, and he's doing his best to deliver on the things he can.
Of course lowering prices and imposing huge tariffs are opposing ideas. Either one or the other isn't going to happen. But this time he seems determined to do the tariff thing; extending his wrecking ball policies to include the whole world.
But probably the biggest shock was how devastating the demise of USAID is to farmers. Who would have guessed that a lot of the food that agency was sending around the world was made in America?
There's an old saying, "we get too soon old, and too late smart".
In this case, smart was about 5 months too late.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2025/02/13/musk-gutting-usaid-american-farms-businesses/78382724007/

[dem4decades]

68. They can wear their MAGA hats to their foreclosures.

I hope there's photos.

[multigraincracker]

74. They hate Socialism, except for

subsidies and grants.
🤨

[dem4decades]

81. My buddy was a dairy farmer, he got a nice check from the government every year.

But he's not an asshole hypocrite, Hayes MAGA.

[multigraincracker]

89. Lots of science in dairy farming. Production and breeding.

[Beartracks]

70. Too bad they wouldn't listen to warnings just because the warnings came from Democrats.

But if they only hang out in the rightwing media echo chamber, they probably never heard the warnings anyway.

=====================

[Martin68]

73. Stupid, idiotic Trump-supporting farmers. He already did this during his first term. What did these morons

expect? They deserve what they get.

[multigraincracker]

75. King Minus, everything he touches turns rusty orange.

[GreenWave]

77. How's that border wall coming along? GITMO? Simple solutions make for simple minded voters.

[GoodRaisin]

78. Trump told these morons he was going to enact tariffs.

[Demobrat]

79. You did vote for this. You voted for the white man.

You got the white man.

[Beowulf42]

80. Huh?

Then you weren't paying attention when Trump was tied directly to the Republicans Plan 2025, and they backed him in the election. Just another lie he told when asked about the Plan. He's dismantling our Democracy according to the plan and putting its authors in high positions.

[ck4829]

82. Yes, you did Brett! Yes you did!

[CousinIT]

83. Actually, ya dumbasses, you DID vote for that. You just thought it would only hurt those "other" people and not you. nt

[av8rdave]

85. Oh FFS

You morons absolutely voted for this. This is exactly what it said it was going to do, and the only consequence you could think of was “owning the libs.”

You should be permanently banned from voting for failing to demonstrating the ability to simply draw a line between two dots.

[calimary]

87. Hard to feel sorry for them.

We DID try to warn them. And we shouldn’t allow them to forget that.

Sorry - I’m just not in much of a forgiving mood right now.

[orleans]

88. "But my fear is that once you lose those markets to other suppliers, it's very hard to get them back."

really? ya think, farmer bob?



well, at least you voted for the crazy, white, male, republican felon so console yourself with that

[CaptainTruth]

90. I've been using this meme a lot lately...

[BumRushDaShow]

95. Excellent!

[CaptainTruth]

131. It's great isn't it???

[perdita9]

91. Farm Around and Find Out

[Aristus]

93. Sorry there, Farmer Bill, but you DID vote for this.

Try and learn something from it. Just grow the food, and let people who know what they're doing deal with the political stuff.

[creon]

94. They did vote for it

Those people are getting what they voted for.

They need to take their personal problem to the chaplain.

[EarthFirst]

96. You DID vote for this...

There couldn’t have been any clearer indication that could have been laid out in advance during the campaign.

There was literally a 900 page document that YOU decided to ignore.

The xenophobic ranting was on display in full detail; YOU chose to ignore it.

Lay with beasts; wake with fleas…

[sarisataka]

100. Yes, West Virginia farmer Jennifer Gilkerson...

you did vote for this.

[Dawson Leery]

101. Yes you did.

[Scrivener7]

102. True. You voted for him because you thought he'd hurt OTHER people.

[BoRaGard]

103. "Ha ha. Suckers and losers. Ha ha." - Krasnov-47 (R -Felon) & Billionaire Bros (R)

[Buddyzbuddy]

104. Something just occurred to me. Maybe this is part of the plan?

Hear me out, we know the Felon is motivated by money. Maybe breaking farmers was part of an underlying plan to buy acreage cheaply. He was foremost a developer, he doesn't need future votes and he doesn't care about who gets hurt along the way. It could be somebody else's plan and he likes the idea or he's being manipulated again?
We know he likes to watch polls and his favorability is heading straight down and yet he's not changing course. Maybe it's Leon's plan? Maybe he's angry with America about their influence in changing Apartheid? He has all the money in the world, why not buy America?

[TexLaProgressive]

105. "Fool me once, shame on you.. Fool me twice shame on me."

He did this to them the 1st time, he said he was going to do it agian. I mean, maybe he lies all the time, but when he has a history of doing something and he says he will again BELIEVE HIM I live in a rural area, I would say 80% are trumpians with 15% “I don’t pay attention to politics, it doesn’t affect me.”.

[JustAnotherGen]

106. Oh yes you did!

Liars liars pants on fire.

You don't buy 3 potato chips - you buy the entire bag.

[Solly Mack]

107. You voted for Trump, then you voted for everything happening right now.

You heard only what you wanted to hear.

Oh, well.

Yeah, it sucks. It sucks for us all.

[Cirsium]

108. It isn't relevant that they are farmers

There are Trump voters in every line of work. A little over 1% of the population works on farms, and of those a small percentage are farm owners. It is not a significant voting bloc.

Federal agriculture programs are for the benefit of the eaters, not the growers.

There is a "Walter Mitty" effect among Republican voters. Walter Mitty is an American literary character created by author James Thurber a commonplace, and a "Walter Mitty" type has come to mean an unadventurous person with a boring life who seeks to escape reality through daydream and heroic fantasies.

The people voting for Trump aren't really farmers, nor are they cowboys, ranchers, lumberjacks, pioneers, etc. They identify with those professions ad the Republicans know how to cater to that, from Reagan on horseback - literally a Hollywood creation - to W's fake ranch, and Trump's he-man collectibles and YMCA theme music.

Farmers are a poor FAFO example, and the comments that people make on these threads merely illustrate the adage that never before in human existence has there been a population so ignorant about and alienated from the source of their food as contemporary Americans are.

Additionally, the examples of farmers that these stories use are highly unrepresentative. There are a number of strawberry growers here in this fruit district, and none of them are dependent upon a federal buying program. None are 100% dependent upon strawberries, as far as that goes.

The authors of these stories start out with a story line, and then go looking for examples that fit their narrative. Often, that means media savvy people, newcomers, part timers, hobbyists, and very small scale operations, people more likely to be pursuing federal grant money.

Bob Hemesath, the Iowa corn farmer mentioned in the article, is the president of Farmers for Free Trade. They are pretty confident that Trump will take are of them, the large scale livestock, grain and soy producers, and they are probably right.

From the site:

“At a time when the American agricultural economy is facing immense problems, including rising input costs, global competition, and uncertain market conditions, Secretary Rollins’ leadership will be critical in ensuring that U.S. farmers and ranchers remain competitive. Trade is central to American agriculture, with exports accounting for a significant portion of farm revenue. With key partners like Canada, Mexico, and China purchasing half of all U.S. agricultural exports, it is imperative that we maintain and expand our access to these markets. Secretary Rollins’ commitment to strengthening free trade agreements and advocating for policies that support exports will provide much-needed stability and growth for the industry."

The farmers here fall in between the two extremes of small scale quasi-hobby operations and the massive grain and livestock operations. They historically vote Republican, but not by very large margins. There are plenty of very strong Democrats, 40-45%. The problems here are severe labor shortages, caused by the war on immigrants, which has been waged just as aggressively by Democratic administrations as it has been by Republican administrations, and crop loss due to climate change.

[progressoid]

114. Republicans Represent 81 of Top 100 Ag Production Districts

Agri-Pulse’s Noah Wicks reported Wednesday that “Republicans are tightening their electoral grip on farm country, holding all but 19 of the top 100 congressional districts in terms of agricultural sales, according to an Agri-Pulse analysis of newly released data from USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture.”

“Republicans control 21 districts ranked highest for the value of sales of agricultural commodities in 2022, with Adrian Smith’s Nebraska district topping the list with $22.9 billion in sales,” Wicks reported. “Altogether, 81 of the top 100 districts in ag production are represented by Republicans. Three seats are currently vacant, and Republican Vince Fong won a race Tuesday for one of those, California’s 20th District, which was vacated by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.”

“The Democrat-held seat that ranks highest in agricultural production is California’s 18th district, which is represented by Rep. Zoe Lofgren,” Wicks reported. “…The districts held by California Democrats Raul Ruiz and Salud Carbajal rank 32nd and 36th, respectively. Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson’s seat is 38th on the list, while North Carolina Democrat and House Agriculture Committee member Don Davis’ district is 49th.”

“Even when ranking congressional districts by their overall number of farms, Republicans outnumber Democrats,” Wicks reported. “(Adrian) Smith’s Nebraska district led in 2022 with 34,297 total farms; (Michelle) Fischbach’s Minnesota district followed with 31,267 and (Randy) Feenstra’s Iowa district came in third with 29,941. New Mexico Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez is the first in her party to appear on that list, with her district ranking 43rd in terms of number of farms.”

etc...
https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2024/05/republicans-represent-81-of-top-100-ag-production-districts/

[Cirsium]

119. Sure

In the tri-county area here - an ag production region, a small part of district one - there are about 300 growers. Trump got 50,000 votes. (Harris got 45,000 votes).

The districts in the article are "ranked highest for the value of sales." Dollars don't vote.

Even in the districts at the top of the list, like Nebraska 3, close to half of the voters are described as "urban" and farm owners represent less than 5% of the population. In the highest ranking district here in Michigan, 1.2% of the population are farmers, and 74% of the population is listed as urban rather than rural. There are 10,000 growers in that district and Trump got 300,00 votes. Even if all of the farmers voted for Trump, that is only 3% of his total in the district.

[BumRushDaShow]

117. Regarding this -

Additionally, the examples of farmers that these stories use are highly unrepresentative. There are a number of strawberry growers here in this fruit district, and none of them are dependent upon a federal buying program. None are 100% dependent upon strawberries, as far as that goes.

Here’s what immigration crackdowns mean for Florida’s workforce



Carolina (withheld last name), a field worker, tends to a field of strawberries at Sanchez Farms on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Plant City. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]

By Juan Carlos Chavez Times staff

Published Feb. 20|Updated Feb. 20


Fidel Sanchez remembers how hard things got after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law tightening restrictions on immigration in 2023. Out of nearly 80 workers and their families who used to work on his Plant City strawberry and vegetable farm, eight stayed. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” said Sanchez, who has been growing in Plant City for more than 25 years. “Honestly, it doesn’t make sense, because we need local workers to harvest the crops.”

With President Donald Trump’s administration promising mass deportations and zero-tolerance immigration policies, Sanchez fears an even greater labor shortage is on the horizon. Without local workers, Sanchez depends on temporary migrant laborers, a visa program known as H-2A. The program allows employers to bring foreign laborers to perform agricultural work in the U.S.

This year, Sanchez is paying subcontractors $23 an hour for each worker they bring from Mexico on a temporary labor visa, about 44% more than the previous rate of $16. He believes the political landscape is linked to the rise in rates. “The impact has been severe, and it costs me more,” Sanchez said. Changes in federal and state immigration policies may influence industries in Florida that rely heavily on migrant labor, including construction, hospitality and agriculture. Workforce shortages in these sectors could become more pronounced amid ongoing uncertainty.

Florida has more than 4.5 million immigrants, including those without permanent status. Immigrants represent more than a quarter of the state’s civilian workers. They make up 47% of the workforce in agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting and mining; 38% in construction; and 25% in service jobs, such as entertainment, accommodation and food services, according to estimates by the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

(snip)

In addition, the current (and past) Farm Bill have subsidies to cover crop insurance, etc. and that includes "strawberries" -

Specialty Crop Producers, We Have You Covered

(snip)

Coming in 2022

First, that PRH policy that was available for Florida strawberries. It’ll now be available for California strawberries in crop year 2022.

Also, next year, Florida producers will be able to insure several citrus commodities under an Actual Production History plan that offers several advantages over the existing Florida Citrus Fruit Dollar Plan. This product provides individualized coverage based on historical yield instead of a state’s average value. It also provides more comprehensive coverage for citrus fruit during the bloom phase until fruit forms on the tree and a simpler loss adjustment process and faster settlement of claims.


Coverage through Product and Revenue History is available to strawberry growers in certain Florida and California counties. USDA photo.

(snip)

Unless they are independently wealthy, I expect most farms are availing themselves of financial federal support and Muskrat is coming for that.

[Cirsium]

120. No question

There is no question that Trump is hurting farmers.

[republianmushroom]

109. Boo Hoo, I'm a farmer, you owe me, you are hurting my bottom line.

You voted for the convicted felon, suck it up. Live and learn.

[erpowers]

112. Actually, They Did

No matter how you slice the issue, they did vote for what is happening. Trump ran on just about two things, pardoning the January 6th rioters and imposing tariffs. Also, tariffs is not an issue they can say they just did not believe him. He imposed tariffs in his first term.

[erpowers]

113. Voting Against One's Self Interest

These are clear examples of people working against their own self interest. Why would you vote for someone from a party that is anti-government, constantly proposes reducing the size of government, and constantly calls for the destruction of government agencies? Also, if his policies had negatives impacts the first time around, why vote for him a second time?

[evolves]

115. FAFO

Sucks, doesn’t it?

[calimary]

116. Oh yes you DID.

And those who went along with it and eagerly added their names onto it have NO ONE to blame but themselves.

They’ll get no pity from me. The truth was right out in front, there, over and over and over again, and all over TV, radio, and print. And nobody held a gun to their heads and forced them to watch and to cheer him.

[Old Crank]

118. Remember, We didn't vote for this,

is different than, We didn't vote for Trump.

People saying we didn't vote for this means they voted for Trump in all probability.

[marble falls]

121. Farmers most certainly did vote for this. He did it to them last time and he promised to do it again ...

... and he did. There has never been a candidate before who people voted for because they they didn't believe he'd keep promises they didn't want kept.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

122. Strange bedfellows: We were betrayed, we did not vote for this, said ...

... farmers, muslims, veterans, etc

[RockRaven]

126. That is a LIE. This is EXACTLY what you voted for.

TCF is not doing a single fucking thing that he didn't either a) do last time or b) say he would do.

So fuck off with your "this isn't what I voted for" bullshit!

[Blues Heron]

128. better luck next time idiots.

[Ruby the Liberal]

129. "we did not vote for this"

"he was only supposed to hurt other people while we cheered"

The last time he did this, the taxpayers coughed up some $40b to offset your collective losses. Guessing you thought that was going to happen again.

Whatever. The leopard party has your back, sis.

[D23MIURG23]

130. FFS. Maybe next time know something about who you vote for.

None of this is at all surprising to anyone paying attention.