To make matters worse, the President\u2019s decision to hike imports<\/a> of Argentine beef into American markets instead of dedicating resources to build U.S. herds served yet another gut punch for farmers, who have also had to deal with<\/a> higher prices for inputs like fertilizer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With their markets ruined, it is no wonder that farmers desperately await $12 billion in relief payments<\/a> that President Donald Trump promised to send their way. But what they\u2019d rather have is a fair price for the crops they\u2019ve grown. As one farmer told<\/a> Trump at a December 8 roundtable, \u201cWith this bridge payment, we\u2019ll be able to farm another year.\u201d But that\u2019s not good enough for people who work year-in-and-year-out getting food onto our tables.<\/p>\n\n\n Mexican producers, also facing economic problems, have recently taken to the streets<\/a> to call for change. Since October, thousands of farmers have periodically blocked roads<\/a> with their tractors around the country to demand fair prices, protect their water rights, and renegotiate the United States, Mexico, and Canada Agreement<\/a> (USMCA). As in the case of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers strike<\/a> this past October, free market reforms are the target. As such, this moment offers a chance for U.S. farmers to join their neighbors to the south, in seizing the opportunity to push back on free trade and encourage policymakers to support domestic markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mexico isn\u2019t the only country to witness mass farmer protests. Last year, farmers from around Europe protested<\/a> falling prices, harsh environmental legislation, and free trade agreements. Before that, in 2020 and 2021, millions of Indian farmers marched<\/a> to protest price-support policies in the face of their government\u2019s attempts to deregulate markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If there\u2019s any doubt that farmers should fight to keep price protections and government programs, look no further than to the impact of free-market reforms on U.S. agriculture. From 1987<\/a> to 2022<\/a>, under the original NAFTA trade agreement and its Trumpian replacement USMCA, implemented in 2020, about 200,000 farms left production. Meanwhile, according to<\/a> the advocacy group, Farm Action, four companies came to control 90 percent, 80 percent and 70 percent of our nation\u2019s cotton, corn, and seed markets, respectively. The Canadian-based Nutrien produced<\/a> around 60 percent of potash fertilizer annually mined in North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With free-market policies driving people off the land and enriching corporations, farmers would benefit from USMCA reform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To start, as urged<\/a> by the National Family Farm Coalition and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, countries should not be required to ratify the 1991 Act of International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. Currently part of the USMCA, this provision allows biotech firms to own seed patents, preventing farmers from saving, sharing, and growing their own. Removing this provision would give farmers freedom from consolidated seed markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, re-installing Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling<\/a> for beef would help consumers make informed decisions about the origins of their products. Increased market transparency could improve demand and put money into U.S. ranchers\u2019 pockets. This policy has widespread support<\/a> from groups including from the Farm Bureau. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of the reason Trump turned NAFTA into the USMCA was to open Canadian markets to U.S. dairy exports. Expanding free trade has not helped U.S. producers. In Wisconsin, from 2014 to 2024, the state experienced a 46 percent decrease<\/a> in the number of dairy farms and has lost<\/a> 1,888 licensed dairy herds in the five years since<\/a> the USMCA was implemented. Wisconsin also led the country in farm bankruptcies<\/a> in 2020 and 2021. This time, leave Canadian farmers alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our farming neighbors have had enough, marching to demand economic justice. Maybe U.S. farmers should join them, ensuring our government hears their demands and does not continue down the path of further farm consolidation and corporate monopolization. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Anthony Pahnke, vice president of Family Farm Defenders and an Associate Professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University Originally published by the Progressive, Dec. 16, 2025 2025 has been a tough year for farmers. As if the … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/farmers-blockade-december-large-large-1024x576.jpg\")
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