President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter as he speaks after signing an executive order regarding TikTok in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Washington.

Donald Trump’s policies are screwing over a core part of his base — again.

The nation is only a few days into a government shutdown, with no clear end in sight. As Democrats and Republicans spar over funding demands, hundreds of thousands of civil servants have been furloughed, including half of the nearly 86,000 employees at the US Department of Agriculture. The essential functions of the agency, like food inspections, will continue. However, other programs, such as the Farm Service Agency, which is responsible for distributing loans and financial aid to farmers, will be forced to furlough two-thirds of its employees.

For some US farmers — a group that Trump claims to champion — the shutdown, combined with one of the president’s central policies, couldn’t have come at a worse time.

The agriculture business can be volatile, as bad weather, pests, and disease can significantly reduce the amount of money a grower will bring in. Normally, the USDA would be tasked with easing some of the economic pain for farmers through various programs. The agency provides loans, offers disaster assistance and makes other payments. USDA also plays a role in international trade agreements and negotiations. However, all those programs and negotiations are now on hold.

This time, the financial hit is purely political.

“The tariffs are an insult to injury,” Paul Mitchell, a professor of agriculture and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told HuffPost.

On the campaign trail, the president spoke endlessly about enacting tariffs, a type of tax on goods imported from other countries that consumers eventually pay. When he returned to power in January, he began zealously pursuing the policy, including by slapping massive tariffs on China, one of our biggest trade partners.

He assured farmers, who rely on China to purchase their crops, that this would be a financial boon.

“Our farmers are going to have a field day,” he said in March during a joint address to Congress. “...to our farmers, have a lot of fun, I love you.”

But while Trump has been bragging about how tariffs are making the US extremely wealthy, China has made its own move: imposing its own tariffs on the United States, sparking a trade war and causing the price of everyday items like toys and clothing, many of which are manufactured in China, to jump. Additionally, the Chinese government is now refusing to buy soybeans from the United States — a significant blow to the farming community.

“Corn and soybeans dominate US agriculture. It’s half of the country’s crop revenue,” Mitchell said.

“China buys about 60% of the world’s traded soybean,” he added. “So, when China says they’re not buying our soybean that really hurts our exports.”

During the 2024 soybean season, which typically runs from September to........

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