Summary
Michigan farmer Rebecca Carlson, a longtime Trump supporter, faces bankruptcy as Trump’s funding freezes stall a $400,000 USDA grant for hiring temporary workers.
Carlson, who hoped Trump’s second term would revive her struggling cherry farm, already spent $200,000 preparing for labor under the H-2A visa program.
With funding halted, she risks losing $200,000 more and can’t move forward with critical hires.
Trump’s new tariffs and immigration crackdowns threaten agriculture costs and labor availability, leaving farmers uncertain and frustrated with unmet promises.
I can’t speak for this lady, but farming is expensive. There are tons of unnecessary challenges that are expensive to overcome (e.g., no right to repair on John Deere, seeds/genetic lines owned by Monsanto, etc.). Essentially, if I recall correctly most farming operations require tons of subsidies to continue existing. This woman’s political beliefs are against her own interests and are terrible, but the money the U.S. gives the farmers is more about our system being broken than problems with the farmers.
This woman voted against her own interests. If she loses her farm, I won’t feel bad for her. I do feel bad for farmers in general, and I don’t begrudge them their subsidies in many cases because of the way the system is set up. I think John Oliver has one or two episodes on farming. If you haven’t looked into it, I think that’s a great place to start.