DES MOINES, Iowa — As farmers’ economic anxieties in this agricultural cradle rise, so does the political outlook for Democrats.
Farmers across the Hawkeye State are feeling the punishing effects of President Donald Trump’s policies — from his war against Iran and sweeping tariffs to his new imported beef pricing plan.
“It’s chaos,” Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers’ Union, told MS NOW. “We are just not on the right path. At the time when farmers are dealing with all this uncertainty, we should be doing more to help them bring stability.”
Lehman, a fifth-generation soybean and corn farmer from Polk County said farmers are putting off purchasing and repairing machinery because the costs are so high. “They’re putting off repairs even to machinery that should be repaired. They are bringing less innovation onto the farm,” he said.
Denise Ryan, a farmer from Columbus Junction, said rising diesel prices and tariffs are hurting her and her husband Bill. “It is very stressful,” she said. “There is no doubt about it. All sorts of different factors sometimes going against us, and so many things we can’t control.”
Like other farmers interviewed by MS NOW at the Iowa State Fair’s Corn Day, Ryan and and her husband declined to say how they voted in previous elections.
The financial woes expressed by these farmers over the rising costs resulting from Trump’s economic plans and unpopular war in the Middle East come as Democrats seek to take back control of Congress and governors’ mansions in the midterm elections in just two months. Iowa, which Trump won by 13.2 percentage points in 2024, is a state that could tilt the balance of power if it elects a Democrat to the Senate for the first time since 2008.
Rural voters — who have soured on Trump — stand to be a crucial voting bloc in this year’s contests. And they include farmers.
“We already had very tight margins,” Iowa Corn Growers Association President Mark Mueller said, but higher diesel prices have “just ratcheted the margins even tighter.” Mueller, a corn and soybean farmer, estimated that he’ll spend an additional $12,000 this year filling an 8,000-gallon fuel barrel before harvest.
A gallon of diesel costs $5.37 in Iowa, up from $3.50 a year ago, according to AAA fuel prices.
On Friday, Trump announced a new beef import plan — pausing tariffs on imported ground beef — leading to backlash from Republicans who represent ranchers and farmers. On Saturday, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian products after trade talks between the two allies unraveled.
Iowa’s agricultural leaders also hope the Senate will pass its farm bill, which is stalled in committee over partisan disagreements.
“We are just not on the right path,” Lehman told MS NOW. “At the time when farmers are dealing with all this uncertainty, we should be doing more to help them bring stability. We should be passing a farm bill that’s three years overdue.”
As farmers struggle with rising costs, the Cook Political Report has shifted Iowa’s open Senate race from “lean Republican” to “toss up,” citing a political environment that is “uniquely challenging for the GOP” in Iowa. It also changed Iowa’s gubernatorial race rating from “toss up” to “lean Democrat.”
“Feels great,” Senate Democratic nominee Josh Turek told MS NOW during an interview at the Iowa State Fair, welcoming the shifting winds in his favor. He noted that “in one year we’ve gone from solid R to toss-up” and predicted: “I think we’re going to be able to do something special here in Iowa.”
MS NOW still rates the Iowa Senate race as leaning Republican.
Turek, a state representative who is facing GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, says farmers in his state feel abandoned by Washington.
“Right now it is a really, really tough time to be a farmer in Iowa. The word that we hear the most when we’re out in rural communities and talking to farmers is ‘betrayal,’” Turek, a Paralympian gold medalist, said.
It’s not just the current season that farmers in Iowa worry about. For many, agriculture is a family business.
“How are we going to create the opportunity for the next generation to come onto the farm if we’re having trouble just trying to figure out how to get from one growing season to the next,” said Lehman, a sixth-generation farmer.
“We should end this war and provide some predictability for farmers rather than asking farmers to take the economic hit,” Lehman told MS NOW.
The post How struggling farmers could turn Iowa blue and hand Democrats power appeared first on MS NOW.
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