Letter to the editor: Farmers Need Relief

To the editor:

Farming is a risky business due to unpredictable weather, commodity prices and cash flow.  Now, U.S. tariffs have sharply increased our farmers’ operating costs, cutting into profits.

Those exporting their harvest take an additional hit from retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. farm goods, resulting in lost sales.

At the same time, new immigration policies have driven many farmworkers into hiding, leaving some farms without enough hands to get the job done, so crops are left rotting in the field.

In addition, cuts to USDA and USAID eliminated critical revenue for farmers providing food for their local schools and food pantries, or for famine relief.

These cuts also left farmers on the hook for money they personally invested in projects supported by federal grants, which were cancelled without notice. The consequences have been devastating.

The American Soybean Association said their farmers were “on the edge of a financial and trade precipice.” 

The National Corn Growers Association said that “elevated prices of fertilizer and other inputs are approaching disastrous levels.”

U.S. farm bankruptcy for January through March 2025 has already exceeded total for all of 2024. New federal policies are squeezing our farmers while also raising food prices for the rest of us (if you’ve recently pushed a grocery cart you know this). 

America needs prosperous farms to feed our nation. Rochester Democratic Town Committee supports local farmers. We call for an end to tariffs, restoration of federal agricultural funding and humane immigration policies to secure our borders and let our farm workers live with dignity.

Damien McCann

Rochester