Trump faces frustration from Iowa farmers as costs rise and crop prices fall
Iowa farmers told CNBC tariffs, high input costs and weak crop prices are testing Trump’s agriculture promises before the 2026 midterms.
By Theo Nakamura · Staff Writer
· 4 min read
Trump Iowa farmers are becoming a pressure point for Republicans as growers tell CNBC that rising costs, weak crop prices and lost export buyers are squeezing farm income. The frustration matters politically because rural voters have been a dependable Republican base, and recent polling shows President Donald Trump’s support there has slipped.
Aaron Lehman, who grows soybeans, corn, oats and hay on his family’s Polk City, Iowa, farm, told CNBC his health insurance premiums have more than doubled since federal subsidies expired. He also said diesel, fertilizer and other farm inputs have become more expensive while crop prices remain low.
Lehman, president of the nonpartisan Iowa Farmers Union, said farmers are cutting spending despite Trump’s promise of a “golden age of American agriculture.” He told CNBC he sees no sign that family farmers or rural communities are improving under current policies.
Why are Iowa farmers frustrated with Trump?
Farmers interviewed by CNBC pointed to several pressures at once: tariffs, higher fuel and fertilizer costs tied partly to the Iran war, inflation, health care expenses and soft commodity prices. Tariffs are taxes on imports, and when other countries respond with their own duties or buy from other suppliers, U.S. farmers can lose foreign customers.
The White House blamed the farm sector’s problems on former President Joe Biden. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CNBC that farmers suffered under Biden because of a wider U.S. trade deficit, higher input costs and agricultural policies she described as “woke DEI.”
Trump has also promoted moves aimed at helping agriculture, according to CNBC. His administration has rolled back some regulations, raised the estate tax exemption used by farm families transferring land and equipment, and ordered $12 billion in direct payments to farmers using tariff revenue. A House-passed wartime budget package in July included another $12 billion in farm aid.
Still, farm groups and economists say aid does not solve the market problem. Iowa State University economics professor Chad Hart told CNBC that direct support helps farms keep operating, but many farmers would rather earn income from buyers than depend on government payments.
What do the farm numbers show?
The American Farm Bureau Federation projected in July that U.S. farmers will lose $31 billion on major crops in 2026 and $32 billion in 2027 because of inflation, low commodity prices and unstable production costs. In an April survey, the group found that 70% of farmers said they could not afford all the fertilizer they needed.
A separate report from Iowa State University, the Iowa Farm Bureau and the Iowa Bankers Association found farm bankruptcies rose in 2025 and 2026 from levels seen in the prior several years. The report also found that 19% of sampled midsize and large Iowa farms were financially vulnerable in December 2025, more than twice the share in 2022.
Health coverage is another pressure point. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that more than one-quarter of farmers, ranchers and agricultural managers use individual market health insurance, largely Affordable Care Act plans. CNBC reported that many could face higher premiums after ACA subsidies expired in January.
Not every part of agriculture is feeling the same pain. Hart told CNBC that corn has been a relative bright spot because international customers did not respond as strongly with retaliatory tariffs, and export volumes are running at a record pace. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said corn growers produced 17 billion bushels in 2025, up from just under 15 billion the year before.
Trump’s rural approval has fallen, according to a Fox News poll released in July. The poll found 44% of rural Americans approved of Trump, down 14 points from June. CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey put Trump’s national approval at 40% on July 17, while CNBC cited earlier polling showing rural approval was 60% at the start of his second term.
Republicans in Iowa are trying to defend their record before the 2026 midterms. Rep. Zach Nunn told CNBC that Biden failed to secure new trade deals and cited a USDA figure saying U.S. farmers lost $50 billion in global market share. Nunn and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks have also highlighted House passage of year-round E15 ethanol sales, though CNBC reported the Senate has not taken up the measure more than two months later.
Lehman told CNBC farmers still need broader help from Washington. Congress has not passed a new farm bill since 2018, a package that usually sets agricultural and food programs every five years, including crop insurance, commodity supports and rural nutrition programs.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
