News · Press Release

PAGING JIM HAGEDORN: U.S. Farm Income Drops Most Since 2016 as Trade War Losses Mount

“Personal income for farmers fell by the most in three years in the first quarter, as losses to U.S. agriculture mount from President Donald Trump’s trade wars.”

Farmers across Minnesota are watching their bottom lines shrink, thanks to the trade war Congressman Jim Hagedorn supports. According to a new report from Bloomberg, “Personal income for farmers fell by the most in three years in the first quarter, as losses to U.S. agriculture mount from President Donald Trump’s trade wars.”

Meanwhile, the Hagedorn-backed federal budget plan for next year would “reduce subsidies for crop insurance premiums to 48 percent from 62 percent and limit current subsidies for growers who make less than $500,000 annually,” creating even more uncertainty for Minnesota farmers.

With a record like that, it’s no wonder Congressman Jim Hagedorn has faced robust criticism from his district’s rural community. The Mankato Free Press has urged Hagedorn “to start standing up for farmers in his district and call for an end to the tariff policy that is crippling the farm economy.” Meanwhile, Minnesota Soybean Growers Association President Michael Petefish called Hagedorn out for failing to deliver on his campaign promise to support local agriculture and small businesses. In an op-ed for the Winona Daily News, Peterfish wrote that farmers in the 1st District “need action, not lip service, from Hagedorn.”

“Farmers across the first district are facing the painful reality of where Congressman Jim Hagedorn’s loyalty truly lies,” said DCCC Spokesperson Brooke Goren. “Hagedorn will do anything to keep his fellow Washington Republicans happy, even if it means blindly supporting a harmful trade war. Southern Minnesotans deserve better.”

Bloomberg: U.S. Farmer Income Drops Most Since 2016 as Trade War Losses Mount

By Mike Dorning and Katia Dmitrieva

Personal income for farmers fell by the most in three years in the first quarter, as losses to U.S. agriculture mount from President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

The Commerce Department on Monday cited the steep decline in farm proprietors’ income as a key factor weighing on the nation’s overall personal income growth in March, even though agricultural producers represent only about 2 percent of total employed Americans.

The report provided fresh evidence of the growing financial strain on U.S. farmers hit by the trade war, low commodity prices and a series of natural disasters including spring floods in the Midwest. With rural voters a key part of Trump’s electoral coalition, it also underscores the political pressure to conclude the China trade war as U.S. negotiators begin another round of talks in Beijing this week.

One-time subsidy payments from the Trump administration to compensate producers for some of their trade-war losses helped prop up farm income in the previous quarter, but earnings plunged by an annualized $11.8 billion in the January to March period, according to seasonally adjusted data.

…Trump’s budget cuts would lower federal subsidies for crop insurance and small growers. The spending plan for 2020 he submitted for Congress would reduce subsidies for crop insurance premiums to 48 percent from 62 percent and limit current subsidies for growers who make less than $500,000 annually.

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