Photograph Source: Tim & Annette – Free Use

If there ever was a time for American farmers to protest, then that time is now.

Contract cancellations and frozen grant payments early in Trump’s term paralyzed a series of projects for American producers, from financing new irrigation systems to strengthening local markets. Adding insult to injury, soy farmers nearly became a causality in our administration’s trade war with China. But details of the current deal, while a much-needed reprieve, show that the negotiated soy purchases from China do nothing more than return farmers to Biden-level acquisitions. This, as US cattle ranchers have been left stretching their heads when a deal was brokered to purchase beef from Argentine ranchers, and American farmer calls for country of origin labelling and to challenge meat industry corporations are ignored.

Perhaps farmers in the United States should look south, to Mexico specifically, for guidance on what they should do to improve their economic situation. There, since mid-October, over 100,000 farmers from all over the country have participated in protests – roadblocks, to be precise – to demand that the Steinbaum government pass policies to address their economic problems. More than symbolic, the Mexican farmer protests have got results, spurring the government to make concessions and engage in dialogue.

Mexican farmers, even though they are on average smaller than their counterparts in the US, face the same general problem of dealing with low........

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