Trump’s War on US Farmers Pt. 1 | The Economics of Farming

The loss of income and customers facing U.S. farmers due to crop sale losses makes headlines routinely, but the increase in farm lending and sales of farms has not. Read on to understand this underreported part of farm economics.

The Farm Crisis in India can help illuminate the problems that all farmers face when trying to earn a living

The headlines for problems faced by U.S. farmers have become routine over the last two years. The most typical will tout a bailout, like the $16 Billion bailout proposed by Trump in July 2019. The other side of this headline essentially explains why there needs to be bailout, pointing out the loss of income faced by farmers due to losses in crop sales. And then between the two is a look at the commodities market, to look at disruptions to commodities futures prices in U.S. agriculture indicating that investors believe that harm is being done.

So, the story of U.S. farmers during the Trump trade war as it’s currently being told is essentially …

1. The trade war prevents U.S. agriculture from being sold to former customers, leading to lost sales, lost customers, and conversion of business to China
2. These losses need to be offset by loans from the U.S. government