America’s farmers voted for Trump in big numbers. But now they feel the pain of his shutdown of USAID — which buys $2 billion/year of products from them. Where do they go from here?

USAID closure causes pain on home soil

Since taking office, President Trump has effectively shut down USAID, a program designed to provide humanitarian relief abroad, causing immediate impact to USAID workers and struggling communities overseas.

But as PBS NewsHour reveals, the pain is being felt on home soil, too by farmers, too, as USAID buys roughly $2 billion of products from farmers every year, it’s also caused a world of distress for U.S. farmers

Roughly 86% of the companies that have contracts with USAID are American, according to aid data company DevelopmentAid. USAID Stop-Work, a group tracking the impact of the recent shutdown, says USAID contractors report laying off nearly 13,000 American workers, including those affiliated with a program at the Soybean Innovation Lab which has opened international markets to U.S. farmers.

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Freeze on USDA programs costs farmers

In addition to shuttering USAID, the Trump administration has frozen a number of USDA programs, putting billions of dollars in loans and grants promised to farmers at risk, including renewable energy programs and programs promoting new crops.

Now farmers who invested thousands of dollars in crops, solar energy and other initiatives upfront expecting money back are frustrated. That includes farmers like Travis Forgues, who invested in a new solar array to power his operation.

“You can’t have people spend this kind of money and then just pull the rug,” Travis Forgues told Midwest Investigates. “I didn’t spend the money thinking maybe I’ll get it back. I spent the money because we had a signed contract.”

Massachusetts farmer and beekeeper Ang Roell planned to install deer-proof fencing and an orchard irrigation system with $30,000 in USDA grants that have since been placed on hold.

“We risk losing the plants because we can’t keep up with the watering schedule,” Roell told NBC News.

Meanwhile, Laura Beth Resnick of Butterbee Farm in Maryland is on the hook for $36,000 she spent on solar panels through the USDA’s frozen renewable energy program. She’s not only worried about her own operation, but her fellow farmers across the country.

“Already, farmers are shrinking their businesses,” she told PBS. “And I'm really afraid about the future of farming if all these programs just go away.”

Tariffs and immigration laws hit farmers, too

Farmers are also feeling an outsized impact from the Trump administration’s policies on tariffs and undocumented immigrants.

An estimated 42% of U.S. farm workers are undocumented. Deporting them could result in a widespread labor shortage, resulting in higher prices, and shortages of essentials that American consumers rely on.

Chuck Nicholson, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics at UW-Madison, told Wisconsin Public Radio that the combination of tariffs and deportations "will pose some pretty significant economic challenges for the farmers of Wisconsin and the U.S. generally."

Equipment that U.S. farmers rely on is often imported. Adding tariffs to the costs of equipment imported from China, Mexico, Canada and other countries will squeeze American farmers.

In addition, the U.S. imports 80% of its potash — used in fertilizer — from Canada. American farmers would have to recoup the 25% extra they would pay in tariffs on Canadian products. The end results of these costs may be passed onto consumers in higher prices.

Trump’s tariffs could also trigger retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products in other countries, as they did during his first administration, hurting prices and international demand for products like soybeans, pork, and dairy.

Mexico, Canada, and China were the destinations for 50% of all U.S. dairy exports in 2023. Nicholson warns that imposing sweeping tariffs on these countries will cause more harm than good.

Consumers may need to brace for the impact, whether that means shelling out more for everyday food products or adjusting for the fact that some may soon be in short supply.