Farm Foreclosures Are Skyrocketing Thanks To Donald Trump’s Inept Policies

Farm Foreclosures are at the highest point since the financial crisis of 2008. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis found that 84 major farm operations in the upper Midwest filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy from June 2017 to June 2018. The bankruptcies were necessary to head off lenders seizing the land in foreclosure. 

Trump’s trade war with China alone has dramatically impacted the $20 billion worth of agriculture US farmers export to China. Trump has agreed to bail out farmers with a $12 billion aid package with roughly $6 billion in an initial round.

The three-pronged plan includes $4.7 million in payments to corn, cotton, soybean, dairy, pork and sorghum farmers. The rest is for developing new foreign markets for American-grown commodities and purchasing more than two dozen select products.

However, farmers say this is a pittance compared to what they have lost. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports:

Wisconsin Farmers Union, based on a survey of its members, says a 55-cow dairy farm would receive a one-time payment of $725 from the Trump bailout program, but it will lose between $36,000 and $48,000 this year due to low milk prices.

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Causing Farm Foreclosures

Farmers also are seeing crops rot because of Trump’s immigration crackdown. It seems like white suburbanites complaining about immigrants stealing their jobs don’t want to do backbreaking farm work. 

Forbes reported in August 2017 that Trump’s immigration crackdown had already triggered losses of more than $13 million in two California counties alone.