Donald Trump continues to treat rural America the way he treated Ivana and Marla, taking them as trophy wives, then getting distracted and dumping them.
The latest sign of Trump’s betrayal of his rural beloved: farm loan delinquencies in January are higher now than they were during the worst crop-price period of the Obama Administration:
It is beginning to become a serious situation nationwide at least in the grain crops — those that produce corn, soybeans, wheat,” said Allen Featherstone, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University.
…Nationwide, 19.4 percent of FSA direct loans were delinquent in January, compared to 16.5 percent for the same month a year ago, said David Schemm, executive director of the Farm Service Agency in Kansas. During the past nine years, the agency’s January delinquency rate hit a high of 18.8 percent in 2011 and fell to a low of 16.1 percent when crop prices were significantly better in 2015 [Roxana Hegeman, “Farm Loan Delinquencies Highest in 9 Years as Prices Slump,” AP via Yankton Press & Dakotan, 2019.02.27].
If tariffs weren’t devastating farmers, they’d be paying off far more of those loans.
Even a Wall Street Journal op-ed opining that news of crisis in the farm economy is over-hyped admits that, “Farmers today are, on average, moderately less affluent that in 2012 and 2013.”
And in the Kick ‘Em While They’re Down Department, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue confirms that Trump wants to come after farmers with another axe, again proposing to slash funding for farm programs:
The Agriculture Department faces large spending cuts, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday while a White House official said President Trump will ask for “one of the largest spending reductions in history” in the upcoming fiscal 2020 budget….
…“There will be a conservative budget,” said Perdue…. “We’ve done our best to advocate for farmers.” The proposals for USDA will exceed 5%, he said, but declined to elaborate. Asked if big cuts in food stamps or crop insurance would be on the table, Perdue replied, “I didn’t say that.”
A year ago, Trump proposed a 33% cut in federally subsidized crop insurance, along with rolling back funding for agricultural research and rural economic development [Chuck Abbott, “Trump Will Try Again to Cut USDA, Says Perdue,” Successful Farming, 2019.02.26].
Perdue was responding to an op-ed by Trump’s acting (they’re all just acting, everyone left the White House) Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought, who says Trump will propose cutting “discretionary” spending by 5%. (Everything is discretionary; Trump just pretends that we can’t do anything to curb spending on guns and death.)
Farmers, you are Marla Maples. Donald Trump got what he wanted from you; now he’s dumped you.
NOem could do something here with the hemp to help farmers, but she is in on the fleece with Hanoi Don. When you speak to many in rural areas, they still support the racist ideals of Hanoi Don, and for that they will continue to keep going bankrupt. Most of South Dakota could simply look at Pierre to see how they have been failed.
Our economy continues to slide due to trump/republican tariffs. “US economic growth slowed to an annualized rate of 2.6% in the final three months of 2018, figures show.” This is even after the sugar high of the tax cuts for the rich. BTW, where is my $4,000.00 that governor NOem promised me she would deliver with the giveaway tax cut? There needs to be a complete change of direction for this country or we will see our empire end by 2025.
it’s not just noem! other governors including our past governors will not stand up against the big packers & grain handlers & of course our wet noodle backed congressional crowd are of no consequence. i have said again & again the farmers & ranchers are the next indians seeding into the machine i now call fascism.
Farm income was at an all time high from 2011-2014 under Obama. I’m a farmer and those were the best years I’ve ever had. Corn brought 6.50 to 7.25 compared to 3.20 now. Soybeans were bringing 12-18 dollars a bushel compared to 7.90 now. Wheat sold from 15 to as high as 22 dollars a bushel compared to 5 now. I sold 950 pound feeder calves for 2.25 per pound compared to 1.35 now. Please, some Trump supporting farmer tell me what has Trump done for the farmer that Obama didn’t? You have to be a complete idiot to keep supporting Trump. I did not vote for the orange felon currently in the White House. The only reason I can think of that a farmer would think Obama was bad for them would be the color of his skin. Time to admit it Trump supporters.
Make America Obama Again
Ed, Are you saying Obama was responsible for food riots and starvation?
https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2011/september/commodity-price-spike/
I am guessing a lot of the farmers who have financial issues are like Ed and don’t understand supply and demand.
They also probably don’t understand African swine flu.
Btw Ed, did you tell your accountant you don’t want to take the 20% tax deduction Trump gave you?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%9308_world_food_price_crisis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%9312_world_food_price_crisis
Is this the appropriate place to remind people who actually pays tariffs? A tariff is a tax paid to the government that imposes it. When the US puts tariffs on something that means the purchaser of that good pays the tariff. So besides Chinese tariffs driving down Chinese demand (and this price) for US farm products, US steel tariffs are driving up the cost of anything made of steel – tractors, pickups, grain bins to store unsold crops. Trump put the double whammy on farmers.
When ya ain’t got nothing, 20% means nothing from nothing leaves nothing, ya gotta have something .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HqyEHqEYho
Cause of spike from your great link jason. “The increase in biofuel production–ethanol in the United States and Brazil and biodiesel production in the EU, Argentina, and Brazil–has played a role in raising prices for corn, sugar, rapeseeds, and soybeans, as well as for other crops. Attributing most of the 2002-08 rise in food commodity prices to biofuel production, however, seems unrealistic. Crop prices dropped more than 30 percent during the last half of 2008, even though biofuel production continued to increase. Further, nonagricultural prices rose more than agricultural prices, and the price of corn (an ethanol feedstock) rose less than the prices of rice and wheat (not biofuel feedstocks).”
It is puzzling why farmers vote for and continue to support Flagrant Felon.
I remember my parents puzzling about the same thing in the 80s. Blind loyalty to R led to farm sales and suicides. I have read that both are up now. I deeply hope the latter especially is not true.
Jason, you don’t know what you are talking about as usual. I must have hit a nerve with you by giving you some facts and comparing the two administration’s farm policy. By the way, I’m not in financial peril as you falsely assume. I also just paid my income tax to the government and I must have missed the 20% reduction that you mention. You can cry all you want, but it is a fact that we farmers were doing much better under Obama that we are currently. Next time try sticking to a topic that you know something about. I don’t need advice from someone like you who has probably never pitched a load of manure before but can sure spew lots of crap to try to defend the indefensible.
Ms. Debbo, Ed nailed it with this “The only reason I can think of that a farmer would think Obama was bad for them would be the color of his skin. Time to admit it Trump supporters.”
Then that Ed feller, comes back with what many of us are seeing, where the hell is the 20% and where the hell is my $4,000.00 refund bucks that jason was blathering about not so long ago.
Indeed, we were all so much better off when President Obama was the president and could have been even better if the nothings like NOem, Thune and Rounds along the rest of the do nothing trumpers would have not been in congress. Hanoi Don just laid an egg in Hanoi that was embarrassing as it could be. His kid Baron, would have done a better job, what a loser this bonehead is.
This is Jason’s 20% deduction for farmers- 10. Pass-through income. Covers income from sole proprietorships, joint ventures, limited liability companies and S corporations. Individuals operating these businesses can take a 20% deduction of business income payments from co-operatives and farmland rent. It’s limited to 50% of W-2 wages paid to employees or the sum of 25% of W-2 wages paid plus 2.5% of depreciable business property. The W-2 limit doesn’t apply when taxpayer income doesn’t exceed $315,000 (joint) or $157,000 (individual).
Co-operatives, trusts and estates are eligible for this 20% deduction. Individuals owning many service businesses with income over $150,000 aren’t eligible.
Most of these tax breaks expire within 7 to 10 years. Reason: A Senate rule limits legislative impact on the federal deficit after 10 years.
Ed,
Go ahead and tell us why you think supply and demand does not affect grain prices.
Jason, go ahead and show us how to obfuscate and divert from how Frantic Flacid Fomenter has destroyed the US farm economy.
Jason — as the resident Trump supporter, go ahead and answer Ed’s question: Please, some Trump supporting farmer tell me what has Trump done for the farmer that Obama didn’t?
Grain Prices have about as much to do with presidents as gas prices do.
localized drought is good for the right farmers. During 2012 my brother got a 4.5″ rain on June 26th, nothing the rest of the summer, and had the best corn he has every had. Sold for around $7.50/bu
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drought/grain-prices-set-records-as-drought-food-worries-spread-idUSBRE86F1D420120720
Prices right now are not much different than many of the “Obama” years
High Spikes were years of localized drought and other factors.
Look at the last year of those “Bush” beans 2008 — great price
https://www.macrotrends.net/2531/soybean-prices-historical-chart-data
O,
Please explain how Obama controlled grain prices?
Ed thinks he did which caused food riots and starvation.
Dogs15, is that the same as the way Carter ended wheat to Russia and prices plummeted? Due to weather, you’re saying? The weather on my family farm was pretty decent, yield was good but we got killed on the prices. I always thought that Carter was to blame.
On January 4, 1980, using his most potentially effective response to So viet military action in Afghanistan, President Carter cancelled contracts for the sale of 17 million metric tons mmt) of U.S. corn, wheat and soybeans to the Soviet Union.
Nevertheless, he undermined the effectiveness of the embargo by allowing the delive ry of another 8 mmt of U.S. grain which he felt were obligated to the Soviets under the 1975 U.S.-Soviet Grain Agreement.
https://www.heritage.org/trade/report/the-soviet-grain-embargo
Wheat prices were higher during Carter than during Reagan
https://www.macrotrends.net/2534/wheat-prices-historical-chart-data
U.S GOVERNMENT MEASURES TO ABSORB DOMESTIC REPERCUSSIONS TO offset the domestic impact of the embargo on businesses and farmers, the Administration immediately instituted measures to assume Soviet contracts and to take affected gra in off the U.S. market so as not to lower grain prices by creating an over supply. These measures, implemented by the Department of Agricul- ture to cushion the domestic market effects of the controls, were administered in an organized, effective manner. A lthough it is extremely difficult in this case to ascertain cause and effect in the grain market, and while the embargo certainly caused disrup6 tions and uncertainty, it does not appear to have lowered farm income below what it might have been without th e embargo.
Okay, slap me across the face with a wet noodle. My memory is faulty. My apologies.
(Jason, this is how you do it all those times you are wrong. It only results in mild embarrassment and improved knowledge.)
Carter was obligated to send grain to Russia via 1975 treaty and then Russia bought cheaper grain from other countries, much like China did with Drumpf'[s cluster of tariffs.
Farm Bureau backed Carter until they didn’t back him anymore and climbed on traitor Raygun’s bandwagon in 1980.
Which reminds me of the millions the Troll said Obama handed over to Iran for the halibut. Much of that money was unfrozen monies paid to America for weapons Iran did not receive and had to be returned. Obama was obligated to return those payments no matter how the Troll spins this non-sense, which he has done endlessly. But that is another post for another day.