Just like in his first term, Trump is screwing over the soybean farmers, but only worse this time. It’s the same pattern as last time. Trump puts a tariff on China because he doesn’t know what the fuck he is doing. China said screw this and goes shopping elsewhere. Trump ends up bailing out the farmers for more money than it would have cost if he did nothing. To make things worse, Trump can’t do shit because he shut down the government so there is no one to do the work needed to get the money to the farmers.
While the farmers said that they would take the stimulus check from the government if it meant keeping their farm afloat, they would do so reluctantly and would rather just have worked within the market.
Matt Rehberg operates a farm near the Wisconsin-Illinois border and is the vice president of the Wisconsin Soybean Association.
He says the boycott from China — which purchased around half of all U.S. soybean exports last year — has made this year especially hard for soybean farmers. But he believes bailout programs are only a temporary solution.
“We want markets. Markets are consistent. We can bet on them,” he said. “When you go to these ad hoc bailout programs, they definitely help. But it’s kind of like putting a Band-aid on a gunshot wound.”
