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Will Farmers Lose Faith With Trump?

27 0
12.06.2026

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More than 100 days of war in the Middle East mean that high energy prices aren’t letting up—and one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s key constituencies is feeling the pain.

Global energy and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed as a result of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, which has throttled energy production across the region and strangled flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

More than 100 days of war in the Middle East mean that high energy prices aren’t letting up—and one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s key constituencies is feeling the pain.

Global energy and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed as a result of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, which has throttled energy production across the region and strangled flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

That’s hitting American farmers hard.

Even before the war in Iran erupted in February, the U.S. agricultural sector had been struggling under the pressures of the Trump administration’s tariffs and immigration crackdown, which strained the farm labor force. The administration also gutted the Department of Agriculture and enacted abrupt funding freezes that halted millions of dollars of grants and loans promised to farmers, fueling financial uncertainty across communities.

“It’s just a tough time,” said Christopher Barrett, an agricultural economist at Cornell University. “Farmers were already facing very severe pressure on markets and labor, and getting supporting services, and now suddenly crucial input prices have gone through the roof,” he........

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