🧑🌾 FARM DEBT HIT A RECORD — BUT THIS IS BIGGER THAN “TRADE WAR” 🌾
Farm debt is expected to reach $560B — and farmers are saying the real problem isn’t just tariffs… it’s a system that’s been tightening for decades.
📉 FARMERS ARE WORKING AT A LOSS
One farmer put it bluntly:
💸 $150/acre loss can turn into hundreds of thousands in the red — just for doing the job.
🏭 THE REAL SQUEEZE: MONOPOLY ON BOTH SIDES
Farmers are getting hit from two directions:
🧪 Inputs (seed, fertilizer, machinery) — controlled by a few giants
Fewer choices = higher prices
Inputs have jumped massively compared to what crops sell for
📦 Outputs (grain buyers / traders) — controlled by a few buyers
Farmers are “price takers”
In many regions there are only 1–2 buyers
You can’t negotiate with giants like you can in a real market
💰 WHY BAILOUTS DON’T FIX IT
Emergency aid often doesn’t “save the farm” — it flows right through farmers’ hands to:
🏦 lenders → 🧾 input companies → 🏢 corporate suppliers
So rural communities keep shrinking while corporations keep winning.
🏚️ WHAT THIS DOES TO RURAL AMERICA
Every farm that folds means:
🏫 schools close
🛠️ parts stores shut down
🍽️ restaurants disappear
📉 small towns hollow out
Consolidation doesn’t just change farming — it changes everything around it.
🧭 THE PREPPER ANGLE (WHY THIS MATTERS)
This is food security. Not theory — real-world stability.
✅ More imports + fewer local farms = more vulnerability
✅ Less competition = higher prices + less resilience
✅ If farmers can’t survive, communities can’t either
📌 QUESTION FOR THE GROUP
If the system is rigged on both sides — inputs and buyers — what’s the path forward?
🌱 Local food networks?
🧺 Buying direct from farms?
🏡 Community co-ops and CSA models?
⚖️ Antitrust action / price floors / supply management?
Drop your thoughts 👇