permafrost Loc: Minnesota

It is true, the low approval rating of trump is getting lower by the day..

This is a small part of a letter sent me by a retired farmer I know from days gone by.

He added that it is part of a "Farm Journal" poll/article. no link included.. but FJ, is a long standing publication which strongly supports farming and has been very accurate in the past predictions.



Trump’s approval ratings have taken a hit across the country, and farm states are no different. For instance, according to the most recent numbers from Morning Consult, Trump’s approval rating in Iowa has dropped by 18 percentage points since he took office. Only 44% of v**ers there approve of Trump, while 53% disapprove. His approval rating in Wisconsin has dropped by 19 points, with a 42% positive/55% negative rating. In Michigan, which he won by the slimmest of margins, he’s taken a 21-point hit, with another 42% positive/55% negative rating.

It’s no secret that farmers are being screwed by Trump’s policies on trade—farm loan delinquencies and farm bankruptcies are at a six-year high. Now, you can add environmental policies to the list: A bipartisan group representing some 10,000 farmers and ranchers is now backing—of all things—the Green New Deal. Because they believe it’s ultimately the only way to save their farms and ranches.

Kevyn

It is only small family farmers that are getting screwed the multinational agribusiness is doing fine and scooping up the family farms as they collapse. The farmers that v**ed for this huckster cut their own throats, none the less it is a sad thing to see.

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

Just a thought, but President Trump's approval rate could drop to zero and he could be reelected because no one has come forward to challenge him. Democrats have a field of a dozen or so people running, but none have plans that can reasonably be supported by our economy. Even if the Democrats succeed (highly unlikely) in removing him from office, Pence can easily beat any of the current runners. Rumor has it that k**lary may toss in her hat, if so that will further divide the Democrats' v**er base.

Gatsby

Smart Farmers know how to grow more than just soybeans.

Smart Farmers know better than to plant a crop that there is no market for.

Smart Farmers know how to ADAPT.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

Not quite true Penny, but I do think that the leaders, of the moment i hope, do not fit the majority of the Democratic party..

Several offer practical and well thought out policy, notably to me is Amy Klobachur..

As for trump himself, it is looking more and more as if his value to the republicans has become less then his cost to the future..

So he may not survive to run in 2020...

If he does, he has done so much damage that I can not see it passable that he would be reelected..

But of course, I did not think once was a possibility either..

the truth about trump is taking root in the Republican party..

4430 Loc: Little Egypt ** Southern Illinory

So you've got Trump h**er retired farmer and he speaks for farmers Hmmm I never hear of any farmers crying about Trump screwing them around here or for that matter anywhere I go and I rub shoulders with a lot of fellow farmers every day !

Approval ratings don't mean squat nor do polls !

You say a bipartisan group representing some 10,000 farmers and ranchers is now backing—of all things—the Green New Deal !

Where did you find that piece of info ? Let me guess the liberal media !

4430 Loc: Little Egypt ** Southern Illinory

Just who are these multinational agribusiness that you're talking about ?

Peewee Loc: San Antonio, TX

Wasn't this year an overall bad year for farmers with all the rain and flooding? I expect food prices to go up next year because of it. Then the San Fernando Valley breadbasket is drying up because it's water has been mostly cut off.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

As I posted, the information is from farm Journal.. no link... this was part of an email from a good friend, retired farmer who I have known from my childhood on a farm in NW Minnesota.. he lived in the Red river valley on the western edge of MN..

I am sure the information is indeed from Farm Journal, as he said it was..

Draw your own conclusion on how meaning full it is..

Farming in northern Minnesota is far different than farming in Illinois..

I find it hard to not think farmers would turn against trump and GOP farm policy, the number of farmers going under hearkens back to the 80s and 90s when "right to farm" turned farming into big money endever and tax shelters for the rich..

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

I should add, he was not a "trump h**er".. back in 2016 he was "give trump a chance" farmer...

But he and many in Minnesota are finding trump did not work for them.. Want a change...

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

Yes, in Minnesota, they had both a wet spring so planting was late and a wet (continuing) fall so harvest is far behind schedule..

Know nothing about the San Fernando Valley situation.. sounds bad..

Peewee Loc: San Antonio, TX

That's funny. I've tamped down thousands of posts like that with an iron rod so they wouldn't go anywhere.

4430 Loc: Little Egypt ** Southern Illinory

Where are you getting this info I haven't heard of any great lot of farmers going under from Trumps war on unfair trade fact of the matter I haven't heard of any farmers around here going under !

If it were so bad one can bet it'd be on all of the liberal media !

Some how I take it that you'd rather have had Trump done nothing like all the other previous Presidents !

Being in unfair trading doesn't seem to bother some folks !

Farmers are as stupid as many folks think they are and will survive we have been down this road so many times before in my lifetime and yes at times it was hard times but most of us survived !

4430 Loc: Little Egypt ** Southern Illinory

So now they are wishing they'd v**ed for Hillary !

Surely you are aware that there isn't nor ever will be a perfect President !

I look at all the garbage Obama was the author of then I look at all the good Trump has done while fighting against the establishment in both parties !

Trump wasn't my pick but I v**ed for him and all in all I'm very well pleased with what Trump has and is doing !

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

remember, those bad trade deals were written by American business.. Not dictated by other countries.

I can not tell you much about the issue, but in Minnesota the problem is severe..

https://www.agweb.com/article/farmer-bankruptcies-on-the-ri

Farmer Bankruptcies on the Rise
Profile picture for user Clinton Griffiths
by Clinton Griffiths
08:37AM Feb 08, 2019
With the cost of borrowing money continuing to rise, consider asking your banker about using a fixed loan

The Wall Street Journal reporting that a wave of Chapter 12 bankruptcies is sweeping across the US farm belt as trade disputes take a toll on businesses already hurt by low commodity prices.

Federal data shows bankruptcies in major farm states last year rose to the highest level in at least 10 years.

According to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Midwest Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin saw twice as many farmers declared bankruptcy in 2018 compared to those that did during 2008.

In the 8th Circuit from North Dakota to Arkansas, bankruptcies were up 96 percent.

In the 10th Circuit including Kansas Colorado and Oklahoma, they rose 59 percent.

Last year, farm debt rose to $409 billion, with the average size of loans in the 4th quarter at $74,190, the highest 4th quarter level in history.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2019/08/30/amid-trump-tariffs-farm-bankruptcies-and-suicides-rise/#5201676f2bc8

Farmers are pretty much under stress all the time since many factors that affect their livelihood are outside of their control. However, over the past few years the combination of lower prices, rain that has created havoc with their ability to plant and finally China freezing the imports of U.S. grown crops due to President Trump’s tariffs has unfortunately created almost the perfect storm against them.

Body blow to farmers

After China made its announcement that it would stop importing U.S. agricultural products American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, “China’s announcement that it will not buy any agricultural products from the United States is a body blow to thousands of farmers and ranchers who are already struggling to get by.”

He added, “In the last 18 months alone, farm and ranch families have dealt with plunging commodity prices, awful weather and tariffs higher than we have seen in decades. Farm Bureau economists tell us exports to China were down by $1.3 billion during the first half of the year.”