{"id":75366,"date":"2025-10-12T07:34:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T07:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/75366\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T07:34:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T07:34:11","slug":"farm-bankruptcy-surge-forces-trump-into-14bn-bailout-plan-to-save-his-voters-livelihoods-and-keep-food-on-tables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/75366\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm bankruptcy surge forces Trump into $14bn bailout plan to save his voters’ livelihoods and keep food on tables"},"content":{"rendered":"

By BEN SHIMKUS, US CONSUMER REPORTER<\/a> and AP <\/p>\n

Published: 11:58 EDT, 11 October 2025 | Updated: 11:59 EDT, 11 October 2025 <\/p>\n

Farmers \u2014 a key voting bloc that helped propel President Donald Trump back to the White House in the 2024 election<\/a> \u2014 are struggling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the past three months, US farm bankruptcies have surged to 93 filings, more than double the same quarter last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Soybean producers have been hit the hardest<\/a>, largely due to the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For years, American soybean farmers shipped nearly a quarter of their $60billion crop to China.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Beijing responded to Trump’s tariffs with 20 percent levies of its own, making US products uncompetitive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Imports from America have plunged to nearly zero, with Chinese buyers turning instead to Argentina and Brazil.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Farmers who planted months in advance to meet Chinese demand are now forced to foot the bill. In Illinois, soybean growers expect to lose about $64 an acre this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To keep more farms from going under, Trump is weighing $10 billion to $14 billion in bailout funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Caleb <\/p>\n

Caleb Ragland, a Kentucky farmer, is happy that President Trump is worried about the plight of American farmers, but doesn’t like ‘being used as a bargaining chip’ in the trade war<\/p>\n

‘The Soybean Farmers of our Country are being hurt because China is, for “negotiating”\u00a0reasons only, not buying,’ he said in a Truth Social post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump said he is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in four weeks, and said the soybean trade will be a ‘major topic of discussion.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

The President has floated the idea of sending some cash from America’s collected tariffs to the farmers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘We’ve made so much money on Tariffs, that we are going to take a small portion of that money, and help our Farmers,’ he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Caleb Ragland, a Kentucky farmer who serves as president of the American Soybean Association, welcomed Trump’s recognition of their challenges, but criticized the broader strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It’s just unfortunate that we’re being used as a bargaining chip in this trade war that’s not of our own doing,’ he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Farmers were already under pressure before the trade fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Domestic prices have slumped as growers try to unload a glut of supply, even as food costs for consumers have soared. On top of that, many producers are struggling to hire workers amid stepped-up deportation efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"American <\/p>\n

American farm bankruptcies have risen this year as the trade war between America and China intensifies<\/p>\n

\"President <\/p>\n

President Trump is considering a $10billion to $14billion bailout for American farmers, including potentially using money taken in from the tariffs. He has bailed out US farmers in the past, sending $12billion to farmers during the first tariff fight with China<\/p>\n

Government aid could help farmers survive the year, but most say they\u2019d rather rely on markets than subsidies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘All farmers are proud of what they do and they don’t like handouts,’ Robb Ewoldt, an Iowa-based soybean producer, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘We’d rather make it with our own two hands than have it handed to us.’<\/p>\n

Trump has deployed this tactic before: in 2018, during his first administration, he sent soy farmers a $12billion bailout<\/a> after China similarly restricted purchases of American agriculture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Ragland and the American Soybean Association are urging a quick end to the trade war.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘US soybean farmers have been clear for months: the administration needs to secure a trade deal with China,’ he said last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘China is the world’s largest soybean customer and typically our top export market.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

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