MORGAN — Farmers, who overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, are navigating an onslaught of federal policy changes that could make or break their businesses.
On-again, off-again tariffs, ramped-up deportations and the “Make America Healthy Again” movement have ignited real concerns among many farmers who are otherwise backers of Trump’s agenda.
On the grounds of Farmfest, the summertime farm industry convention and fair in Redwood County, attendees wore noticeably fewer political hats and shirts. Whereas last year’s campaign-year candidate panels were interspersed with whooping (mainly for Republicans) and booing (at the mention of DFL Gov. Tim Walz), Tuesday’s audience at a panel with members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation was more muted.
Lori Stevermer, a Minnesota hog farmer and immediate past president of the National Pork Producer Council’s executive board, said she’s concerned some pork products, like bacon and breakfast sausage, could be considered “ultraprocessed,” making it a target of incoming rules from Robert Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services.
The administration’s focus on eating meat, however, is a win for the pork industry: “Protein is having its moment, which is great for us,” Steverner said.
Soybean farmers are also in the crosshairs of MAHA. A report released in May by the Make America Healthy Again Commission referenced soybeans, among other crops, as part of the ultraprocessed food system harming American children. That report contained fake citations for studies that don’t exist. The commission has until Tuesday to publish policy strategies based on the report.
“We have enough science behind the products that are produced that we don’t really have a reason to be concerned at all,” said Jamie Beyer, a Minnesota farmer and member of the American Soybean Association Board of Directors.
Tariffs are raising the cost of important inputs, such as fertilizers and equipment. Farmers say an even bigger concern is retaliatory tariffs — taxes other countries place on American products, which can close off foreign markets.
Stevermer said the pork industry, which exports around 30% of its products, was temporarily disrupted for a few days in April when China imposed retaliatory tariffs in excess of 100% on American goods.
China is the biggest buyer of American soybeans, and the flip-flopping on tariffs and uncertainty around future trade relations is slowing down sales.
“Something may work out, but when you don’t know, the uncertainty is costly,” said Ryan Mackenthun, a soy farmer.
Many farmers agreed: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act contained some major wins — a boost to crop insurance and disaster assistance, estate tax breaks and other tax provisions.
But other provisions of the bill, like cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, which helps low-income families buy food, could have bigger-picture ramifications for farming communities.
Rural hospitals are facing cuts or closures over the predicted loss in revenue from Medicaid cuts. Premiums for health insurance plans purchased on the Health Insurance Marketplace — an option for farmers and small business owners — are expected to increase by an average of 75% as a subsidy expires.
“It’s a real crime because health care already for that group is too expensive,” said Paul Sobocinski, a longtime farmer and organizer with Minnesota Farmers Union.
Ramped-up immigration enforcement has made some farm and food-processing workers scared to show up to work. Farmworker visa programs are in limbo.
“We’ve got individuals here who have worked on our farms for a long time that may not be legal, but are good workers that have been paying Social Security taxes and so forth. How do we get them to be able to stay?” Stevermer said.
Outside the pork tent, Farmfest carried on as usual. Workers handed out free sweet corn on paper plates. Children raced in miniature farm vehicles. Farmers inspected the newest models of cattle chutes and tractors. In the “Minnesoyta” tent, families played mini-golf and answered trivia questions about soy: “Who eats more soybeans — people or animals?” (animals).
This article was first published by Minnesota Reformer at https://tinyurl.com/yp8uenmh .