As 2025 shifts to the rearview, America’s farmers are facing another one of the toughest years in decades. Low commodity prices, skyrocketing input costs, and trade disruptions have pushed many operations to the brink. Yet, while rural America struggles, Washington continues to prioritize everything but the backbone of our food system, regardless of which party holds power. Politicians court the rural vote every election cycle, but once in office, they treat farmers as an afterthought. They offer band-aids for gaping wounds while pouring taxpayer dollars overseas and into wasteful, fraud-riddled programs at home.
The evidence is stark and undeniable.
A Farm Bill in Limbo, Again
The 2018 Farm Bill officially expired in September 2025, leaving critical safety-net programs in uncertainty. Congress passed yet another one-year extension through the American Relief Act of 2025, pushing the deadline to September 30, 2026. This marks multiple extensions since the original expiration in 2023, creating ongoing instability for producers who need predictable support for conservation, crop insurance, and commodity programs. Farmers cannot plan long-term when Congress kicks the can down the road year after year, prioritizing political gridlock over rural livelihoods.
Tariffs: Pulling the Rug Out from Under Farmers
The Trump administration’s aggressive tariffs in 2025 hammered American agriculture. Retaliatory measures from China and others slashed exports, drove up costs for fertilizer, equipment, and steel, and left soybean farmers facing a third straight year of losses. Grain producers were hit hardest, with trade disruptions costing the sector billions. John Deere alone projected tariff-related hits exceeding $600 million. Farmers warned this would happen, but tariffs proceeded anyway. The policies moved forward, knowing full well the damage to rural economies.
In response, the administration announced a $12 billion “Farmer Bridge Assistance” program in December 2025, funded partly from tariff revenues. While welcomed, many called it insufficient. It was a temporary patch for structural harm. Row-crop farmers got the bulk ($11 billion), but it arrived late in the harvest season, after many had already locked in losses. No major follow-up aid has been signaled, leaving producers to absorb the fallout. Farm bankruptcies surged and many operations folded under the pressure.
A Crisis of Despair: Skyrocketing Farmer Suicides and Insurance Struggles
The human toll is heartbreaking. Farmers die by suicide at rates 3 to 3.5 times higher than the general population, with agriculture workers facing some of the highest risks among occupations. Financial stress, isolation, and uncertainty fuel this epidemic, exacerbated by 2025’s economic woes.
Affordability of health and crop insurance remains a nightmare. Enhanced marketplace subsidies expired at year’s end, threatening premiums to quadruple for some farmers. Crop insurance premiums declined slightly due to lower commodity prices, but narrow margins and rising risks make coverage feel out of reach for many small operations.
Shutdown Chaos When Farmers Needed Help Most
The 2025 federal government shutdown disrupted USDA services at a critical time. Loan processing halted, disaster aid payments stalled, and conservation reimbursements froze. Farmers harvesting amid low prices could not access vital financing or data, deepening financial turmoil. Even after partial reopenings, reduced staffing left rural communities waiting.
Billions Overseas, Billions Lost to Fraud at Home
While American farmers scrape by, taxpayer dollars flow freely elsewhere. In 2025, the U.S. committed over $20 billion in military aid and arms sales to Israel (including the annual $3.8 billion MOU, $4 billion expedited, and major deals like Boeing’s $8.6 billion F-15 package). All were largely funded by U.S. grants. Aid to Ukraine slowed but drew from prior commitments in the low tens of billions. A $20 billion currency swap lifeline went to Argentina to stabilize its economy, with more thrown on the top.
Closer to home, massive fraud plagues government programs. In Minnesota alone, federal prosecutors estimate half or more of $18 billion in Medicaid billing since 2018 (potentially over $9 billion) may be fraudulent across 14 high-risk programs. “Industrial-scale” scams in autism services, day care, housing stabilization, and more drained taxpayer funds, with ongoing indictments and investigations. Much of this was not even uncovered by government officials, who only reacted after the uproar caused by citizen journalist Nick Shirley, who detailed the scams being run by Somalis.
These priorities speak volumes: Foreign governments, even controversial ones, get lavish support, while domestic fraud siphons billions unchecked, and American farmers get crumbs.
Time for Real Change
No matter the party in power, the pattern holds: Rural votes are secured, then farmers are forgotten. It is time Washington remembers who feeds this nation. We need a robust, modern Farm Bill. We need trade policies that protect, not punish, producers. We need crackdowns on fraud. And we need priorities that put American agriculture first.
Our farmers deserve better than lip service. They deserve action.