Farmers from western Wisconsin gathered at a town hall event to voice their concerns and fears over the Trump administration’s dramatic changes to federal programs. The event was organized by the Wisconsin Farmers Union, which invited federal and state lawmakers from both parties to listen to its members’ grievances. Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and several Democratic state lawmakers attended the event, but no Republican lawmakers appeared.

The Trump administration has implemented several policies that have significantly impacted the agriculture industry. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has frozen federal payments of grants and other programs, ended funding for foreign aid, and ordered staff cuts at agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Additionally, the threat of tariffs against top trading partners like Canada and promises of a crackdown on immigration have caused increased worry within the nation’s agriculture industry.

Impact on Federal Programs

Two producers at the town hall shared that payments from grants they were awarded through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service have been frozen.

“A couple days later, they said I should probably start looking for another job because they couldn’t guarantee that they were getting funds to continue that work,”

said Burkhouse

Chris Burkhouse, who traveled from Polk County to attend, spoke about losing her grant-funded job. She was employed by a nonprofit organization helping beginning produce farmers to scale up their operations and improve profitability. After the president issued an executive order halting federal payments for grants and loans, the nonprofit notified her that she should stop working until they could understand the order.

A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Farmers Union stated that Rep. Rep. Tom Tiffany and U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden were invited to the town hall but were unable to attend due to schedule conflicts. Burkhouse, who spent years as a vegetable producer, is still looking for a new job. For now, she’s signed on to work as summer help for some of the farmers she previously trained. “A farmer myself, I see this as a much bigger fight than just my future,” she says.

However, continued concern has been raised over the supposed temporary nature of the funding freeze. The spokesperson for USDA Secretary Ed Schafer says the freeze’s impact on federal programs goes deeper. Schafer thinks this freeze would affect future pork and dairy product trade negotiations with Mexico.

Uncertainty Over Tariffs and Fertilizer Supplies

Les Danielson, a grain and dairy farmer from Cadott, sits on the board of his local supply cooperative. During the town hall, he expressed his concerns about the availability of potash fertilizer, a critical product mainly sourced from Canada. The 25 percent tariffs threatened by the Trump administration would directly affect the import of this essential fertilizer.

Danielson noted that while the co-op’s sheds are currently full of potash, there is uncertainty about future supplies and the potential increase in costs due to tariffs. “As we go into planting season, a lot of the co-ops have their sheds full of potash right now. But those sheds have to be turned two or three times, meaning we can’t store everything. It would be nice if we could just bring it across the border, have it and not worry about the tariffs,” Danielson said during the meeting.

Food Assistance and Farming Programs Under Threat

Taya Schulte, a vegetable grower from Wheeler, voiced her concerns about potential cuts to federal food and farming programs. Republicans in Congress are proposing up to $2 trillion in spending cuts to fund the Trump administration’s legislative priorities. Schulte worries that cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will hurt spending on food across the country, which will negatively impact American consumers and U.S farmers.

“It’s really scary as a farmer who is passionate about seeing my community fed, but it’s also business. Those are food dollars that can be spent at farmers markets or Walmart or your corner store,”

Schulte remarks.

Research illuminating how SNAP benefits affect American food consumers is crucial. A recent study from U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that twice as much food is purchased with the aid of SNAP, for the same individual recipient.

Schulte added that farmers markets often offer SNAP recipients incentives to shop with their vendors. These incentives double the buying power of SNAP recipients, making farmers markets a more attractive option for low-income families. Society has an entrenched distrust of food. Part of this is owed to the fear-mongering propaganda of which psychologically damaged populists take advantage of, in order to lust for political power.