Anthony Pahnke of Family Farm Defenders was recently featured by The Hill. In his opinion piece, Anthony predicts more economic hardship for US farmers due to the short-sighted nature of the Trump administration’s agricultural policies, particularly with regards to tariffs.
Anthony writes:
Tariffs particularly, when used along with a larger ensemble of tools such as targeted investments and antitrust enforcement, could make markets more profitable and competitive. But as tariffs are currently being deployed, farmers can expect four years of economic hardship.
Anthony also critiques Trump’s trade policy during his first term in the White House, when NAFTA was renegotiated into the current US-Mexico-Ca
Back when renegotiating NAFTA, Canada’s supply management system caught Trump’s attention for limiting the entry of U.S. dairy exports. Part of the USMCA deal, which replaced NAFTA, assured U.S. dairy farmers slightly greater access to Canadian markets.
But even with the USMCA in effect, dairy farm exits have risen. In Wisconsin, from 2014 to 2024, the state experienced a 46 percent decrease in the number of dairies. The state led the country in farm bankruptcies in 2020 and 2021, fresh off the heels of Trump supposedly taking a stand to support U.S. farmers against unfair Canadian trade practices.