Farming
2018
2018-02-01 The Trump administration proposed $183M in cuts to Conservation Technical Assistance, which was designed to fund a part of the USDA called National Resources Conservation Service that helped farmers implement conservation practices.
2020
2020-10-28 Trump handed farmers bailouts after farm sales were destroyed from the first trade war.
https://www.cfr.org/blog/92-percent-trumps-china-tariff-proceeds-has-gone-bail-out-angry-farmers
2021
2021-08-13 News outlets reported that JD Vance promoted an indoor farming company that faced allegations of misleading regulators and investors.
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/jd-vances-firm-invested-in-food-company-now-facing-lawsuits/
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/13/politics/kentucky-startup-appharvest-jd-vance
2024
2024-09-18 JD Vance funded AcreTrader, which led to the consolidation of farmland in regions with high-value lands and reduced competition for farmers. Some online media sources suggested that JD Vance’s firm would buy up American farmland and resell it to foreign investors.
https://civileats.com/2024/09/18/jd-vance-invested-in-acretrader-heres-why-that-matters/
https://www.snopes.com/news/2024/10/08/jd-vance-acretrader/
2025 January
2025-01-20 The Trump administration froze funds to USAID. By March USAID was 83% gutted. By July 24, 2025 Trump signed the Rescissions Act of 2025 to claw back $8B in funding from USAID. Aside from foreign aid, dismantling USAID can negatively impact farm subsidies.
2025 April
2025-04-01 The Trump administration cut $754M in funding from conservation technical assistance.
2025-04-01 Trump repealed the Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products developed by the Biden administration to place more stringent safety standards in our poultry. Because of the repeal, poultry products contaminated with Salmonella can legally be sold so long as existing, less stringent, safety standards are met. The links below include a statement from the National Chicken Council explaining their rationale for eliminating the more stringent standards.
https://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/ncc-statement-on-withdrawal-of-salmonella-framework/
2025 June
2025-06-24 During the second trade war, farmers began to worry if the Trump administration will bail them out again amidst elevated agricultural costs.
https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/06/24/why-trumps-second-trade-war-could-be-worse-for-us-farmers/
2025 September
2025-09-01 Soybean sales to China plummet compared to $12.6 Billion in sales in September 2024.
https://www.newsweek.com/white-house-in-a-bind-as-soybean-sales-to-china-plummet-to-zero-10800487
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/business/china-soybean-sales-farmers.html
https://farmaction.us/china-stopped-buying-u-s-soybeans-the-real-problem-started-decades-ago/
2025 October
2025-10-01 In response to the government shutdown, the Trump administration furloughed 96% of NRCS staff, effectively freezing conservation programs and the processing of financial aid and contracts for farmers.
https://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/how-the-government-shutdown-is-impacting-farmers/
2025-10-03 China bought 25% (roughly 7 billion tons) of Argentina’s soybean complex.
https://www.farmprogress.com/commentary/china-thrives-without-u-s-soybeans
2025-10-16 Recommended video:Rob Sand was interviewed on The Takeout with Major Garett and discussed trade, economics, and agriculture.
2025-10-24 Trump announced plans to buy beef from Argentina. For context, Trump had just bailed Argentina out with $20 BILLION in American taxpayer funds a week prior (unrelated note: American meat processing plants also profit from things like byproducts, leather, and glue).
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/12/economy/argentina-america-bailout-currency
2025-10-28 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called himself a farmer during an ABC interview. For context, Bessent owns land in North Dakota which he rents out to farmers.
https://www.advocate.com/news/scott-bessent-soybean-farmer
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/28/economy/bessent-soybean-china
https://www.tiktok.com/@abcnews/video/7565576442587761933
2025-10-30 Trump discussed trade deals in China with Xi Jinping, lowering tariff rates to 47% and establishing that China will buy 25M metric tons of soybeans annually over the next 3 years.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/30/trump-xi-south-korea-rare-earth-tariff-trade-war-nvidia.html
2025 November
2025-11-02 Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins weighed in on SNAP benefits in an X post, spinning rhetoric of SNAP fraud, attacking blue states, and calling Trump the “new sheriff in town”.
https://x.com/SecRollins/status/1985007736896053318
2025-11-10 The Trump Administration Agriculture Department threatened to penalize states that don’t “undo” steps to fully fund SNAP.
https://factkeepers.com/trump-administration-threatens-states-that-dont-undo-full-snap-payments/
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/09/nx-s1-5603417/full-snap-benefits-trump-states-order
2025-11-21 The Tyson Foods company announced it would close the long-time Lexington Nebraska beef plant around January 2026, leaving roughly 3200 people out of a job. Also noteworthy, it was reported that this closure would boost Tyson stocks by 6%.
https://cap.unl.edu/news/understanding-tyson-lexington-plant-closure-what-it-means-cattle-producers/
https://www.producer.com/livestock/tyson-to-close-beef-plant-as-supplies-dwindle/
2025-11-24 The EPA approved two new pesticides with “forever chemicals” that would be used on food.
https://www.foodandwine.com/epa-approves-pesticides-containing-forever-chemicals-pfas-11855500
https://time.com/7336883/epa-pfas-pesticides-health-risks/
https://waterkeeper.org/news/poisoned-produce-epa-approvals-threaten-public-health/
2025 December
2025-12-14 Trump announced he would use $12B of tariff revenue to bailout farmers who were hurting from the tariffs.
2026 March
2026-03-08 No more farm subsidies?
https://www.cato.org/briefing-paper/cutting-federal-farm-subsidies
https://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/at-a-crossroads-house-farm-bill-falls-unmistakably-short/
https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2026/03/09/house-farm-bill-big-ag/
https://thehill.com/opinion/5152241-us-agriculture-reform-brooke-rollins/
https://www.foodandpower.net/latest/obbb-farm-subsidies-snap-jul-25
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15693430601108086#d1e332
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/27282-New-Zealand-Agriculture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YJ-ZhDG7Jo&list=WL&index=8
2026-03-10 Strikes on Iranian oil fields wouldn’t just effect gas prices. It would also affect the global fertilizer trade for growing crops and global helium supplies.
https://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2026/03/fertilizer-iran-hormuz-food-crisis
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/iran-war-us-farming-impact
https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/assessing-iran-wars-impact-global-fertilizer-supplies
https://www.ifpri.org/blog/the-iran-war-potential-food-security-impacts
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/15/nx-s1-5747927/the-war-in-iran-is-impacting-earths-supply-of-helium