Despite new aid, farmers say labor shortages significantly driving up prices

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Scripps News

Posted 5:31 PM, Dec 17, 2025


Amid the ongoing trade war brought about by President Donald Trump’s unprecedented use of emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs on most nations throughout the world, few industries or businesses have been more impacted than agriculture and U.S. farms.

President Trump’s tariffs have cost farmers upwards of $33 billion this year in increased input costs, a December report by the North Dakota State University’s Agricultural Trade Monitor found, and that’s before taking into account declining sales of key crops to nations that have imposed tariffs on U.S. exports in response to President Trump’s moves.

To mitigate such concerns, the president earlier this month announced a $12 billion aid package designed as a “bridge” payment to help farmers offset increased production costs. Such aid is expected to begin going out in late-February of 2026, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told Scripps News when it was announced, and will be capped at around $155,000 per firm with a focus on smaller family farms.

But while farmers and agricultural industry groups have been broadly supportive of the announcement to help offset tariff costs, many are pointing to a different economic challenge they say is more urgently eating into profits and driving up food prices: a growing farmworker labor shortage.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/despite-new-aid-farmers-say-labor-shortages-significantly-driving-up-prices

[Bengus81]

1. Pffftt...Trump wants to deport as many of your workers as possible but you'll vote

for his ass (and republicants in congress) because you know they will bail you out with socialism style subsidies.

[somsai]

2. Something fishy...Somehow that article skipped from the North Dakota State University

Ag Trade Monitor to anecdotes from some farm advocacy group in CA called "Grow It Here"

Nodak has as little labor costs as any ag in the world, California has five generations of experience exploiting migrant labor. I'd say maybe they can cry to me when they start paying $30 an hour with paid holidays, health care, and a pension.