As we head to the local grocery store to prepare that Thanksgiving meal, take a moment to reflect on how all the items we will enjoy made it to the shelves. Every Thanksgiving feast starts with the hard work of America’s farmers. The turkey, the potatoes, the corn, the cranberries, and the sugar-sweetened pies — all of it traces back to a network of family farms across the country. Because of them, we benefit from a food supply that is both plentiful and among the safest and most affordable in the world.
Behind this bounty is real sacrifice and growing strain. Even in good times, farmers and ranchers earn only roughly 15 cents of every dollar Americans spend on food. But in this economic climate, they’re taking on more risks, and in many cases, facing negative net returns. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins put it plainly: “The farm economy is in a significant challenge right now.”
The numbers bear that out. Since the 2018 Farm Bill, the price of nearly every production cost has climbed. Just since 2020, seed costs are up 18 percent, fuel and oil up 32 percent, fertilizer up 37 percent, and interest costs have surged 73 percent. Meanwhile, commodity prices have continued to fall. This creates significant pressure on farmers’ bottom lines from season to season, and, ultimately, their ability to stay in operation.
To make up for lost revenue and try to stay afloat, America’s farmers continue to innovate, invest, and work harder. They have increased their productivity and made themselves more efficient. But efficiency alone cannot shield them from global forces.
And in some instances, farmers have dug into their equity in an attempt to keep their farms afloat. Others have been less successful, with multi-generational farms selling out and regular land and equipment auctions becoming an unfortunate new norm across rural America.
Homegrown sugar — an American staple — shows those challenges in stark relief. In the past two years, sugar beet and sugarcane growers have seen prices drop by 42 percent and 24 percent, respectively. Operating margins on many farms, and the factories farmers and families own, are being squeezed so hard that in some regions, growers are staring down negative net returns. Sugar processing facilities often represent the economic backbone of their communities, yet several facilities, such as the last remaining beet sugar factory in California, have closed in recent years.
While America’s farmers compete on hard work and adhere to the highest labor and environmental standards, their foreign competitors do not. Countries like Brazil and India pour billions of their governments’ funds into subsidizing their industries, driving production costs down artificially, and flooding the world market with surplus, underpriced commodities.
All that chips away at the pillars of our farm economy, and with it, our food security. A nation that cannot feed itself is neither strong nor sovereign. The more we surrender the ability to grow our own food, the more we become dependent on foreign governments and global markets. If we continue to offshore production of essential commodities, we will lose control over our food supply. Make no mistake, food security is national security.
Under President Trump’s leadership, Congress strengthened and modernized the nation’s farm safety net in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year. The bill included critical reforms and investments to help farmers and ranchers, including expanded crop insurance and updated loan rates, which for decades had not kept pace with rising costs of fuel, fertilizer, and equipment.
Congress must fiercely defend these investments at all costs. Natural disasters, volatile markets, and foreign competition will relentlessly widen the pressure on America’s farmers.
America First starts with American agriculture: homegrown production, family ownership. Exactly 95 percent of U.S. farms are family-owned and operated — and industries that strengthen communities rather than hollow them out. A secure nation requires a secure food supply, which means policies that give American farmers a fair shot.
The food security we enjoy as we gather around Thanksgiving tables with our families is not a given. We know from recent history that fully stocked shelves are not guaranteed. It all rests on farmers who are barely hanging on, and policies that will either sustain them or watch them disappear.
Thanksgiving is a celebration of American abundance and ingenuity. Let’s make sure it stays that way. Our farmers have stood with us. Now it’s our turn to stand with them.
Leif Larson is a noted strategist with 20 years of experience in PR, public affairs and politics. He has contributed to the success of prominent political, corporate and advocacy groups across the country throughout his career.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Ms Jones from California, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
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