In a stark warning to the nation’s leaders, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) has penned urgent letters to President Donald Trump and congressional leaders, highlighting the dire straits gripping U.S. agriculture. The federation paints a picture of farms shuttering across the heartland, driven by plummeting prices, soaring costs, and unresolved trade tensions that threaten not just livelihoods but the very fabric of rural America.
The crisis has reached a fever pitch, with AFBF President Zippy Duvall laying bare the human toll in his correspondence. “Across the country, farms are disappearing as families close the gates on the farms tended by their parents, grandparents and generations before them,” Duvall wrote. He emphasized the ripple effects beyond the fields: “Every farm lost takes with it generations of knowledge, community leadership and the heartbeat of local economies: fewer kids in schools, fewer trucks at the grain elevator, fewer small businesses that keep rural towns alive. As those farms disappear, so too does America’s food independence: our ability to feed ourselves without relying on foreign supply chains.”
These words underscore a brutal economic reality. Crop prices have nosedived since 2022, coinciding with a persistent trade deficit in U.S. agriculture. Lingering uncertainties with key partners, especially China, have injected volatility into an already precarious market, leaving farmers staring down an uncertain horizon.
The letters, dispatched last week, arrive at a pivotal moment for the Trump administration, which has pledged to champion rural interests. Yet the federation stresses that immediate action is essential to avert catastrophe. For the short term, Duvall calls for decisive intervention: “In the short term, we urge leaders to authorize bridge payments for farmers before the end of 2025.” He specifies that “these payments must be robust enough to address sector-wide gaps and provide meaningful support as the federal government works to recalibrate trade strategies, stabilize prices and strengthen key market relationships.”
Looking further ahead, AFBF insists that emergency measures alone won’t suffice; structural reforms are vital to revive rural economies. The organization renews its push for a slate of long-term priorities, including fair and enforceable trade agreements to shield farmers from global whims. It also advocates for biofuels policy tweaks, such as year-round sales of E15, to bolster domestic demand. Other key asks encompass restoring whole milk in schools, safeguarding interstate commerce, probing price gouging on essential agricultural inputs, upholding competition laws for fairness and transparency, and prioritizing U.S.-grown produce in federal procurement.
Duvall closes on a note of urgency and optimism, imploring policymakers to seize the reins: “Federal leadership can now prevent a deepening crisis by taking steps to preserve our agricultural infrastructure and ensure the next generation of farmers and ranchers can continue feeding the world.”As AgroWars readers know, the stakes couldn’t be higher. American farmers don’t just grow our food; they sustain our sovereignty. The Trump team’s response to these pleas will signal whether promises translate to policy, or if the breaking point becomes a breaking wave.