Washington: Agricultural leaders and organizations in the United States have raised urgent concerns about a deepening crisis that could potentially lead to a "widespread collapse of American agriculture" if current administrative policies persist.

According to Namibia Press Agency, a bipartisan coalition of 27 former leaders from prominent U.S. agricultural associations and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently sent a formal letter to the U.S. Congress. They argued that policies implemented by President Donald Trump's administration have inflicted "tremendous harm" on the sector. The coalition pointed out that farm bankruptcies have doubled, and only half of all farms are projected to achieve profitability this year. This situation echoes data from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), which highlights that American farmers are entering the 2026 growing season with accumulated losses surpassing 50 billion U.S. dollars over the past three years.

The coalition's letter criticized the administration's tariffs on farm inputs such as fertilizers, farm chemicals, and machinery parts, which have increased production costs beyond commodity prices. They argued that these tariffs have been economically detrimental to American farmers, reducing their global competitiveness, disrupting export markets, and lowering commodity prices.

This warning follows previous alerts from over 215 state and national agricultural organizations in October 2025, and a letter from 56 agricultural groups led by the AFBF in January 2026. All these groups identified trade protectionism, labor shortages, and federal staffing cuts as primary factors deteriorating the farm economy in the U.S.

The January letter to congressional leaders warned of an increasing number of financially struggling farmers, rising farm bankruptcies, and potential difficulties in securing financing for future crops. It reported that farmers are experiencing negative margins and losses nearing one hundred billion dollars nationwide over the past few years.

U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman stated during a conference call that farmers are "losing money, lots of it." Agricultural lenders surveyed by the American Bankers Association (ABA) and Farmer Mac reported that only 52 percent of farm borrowers were profitable in 2025, with projections indicating this figure will fall below 50 percent in 2026.

Industry leaders highlighted a dramatic reversal from previous record export surpluses and farm incomes. A significant factor is the loss of international market share, with the U.S. soybean market share dropping from 47 percent in 2018 to 24.4 percent today, while Brazil has gained over 20 percent to become the world's leading agricultural exporter.

Jon Doggett, the former chief executive of the National Corn Growers Association, remarked in an interview with The New York Times that despite domestic producers being efficient, they "can't compete with the world with a chaotic set of policy circumstances."

The AFBF noted that the costs for seeds, fuel, and maintenance remain at all-time highs. Tariffs on essential farm supplies have exacerbated these expenses, making them higher than the prices of the goods produced.

The January letter indicated that while the administration's Farmer Bridge Assistance program and other support measures "could provide a meaningful first step," they "do not cover the extensive and cumulative losses that farmers have absorbed over the last several years." The 56 organizations urged Congress to "provide immediate economic support to fill in the gap of remaining losses for both field and specialty crop farmers."

The 215 organizations mentioned in their October 2025 letter that the H-2A visa program, which allows foreign citizens to work temporarily in U.S. agriculture, is plagued by mass deportations and a lack of reform. Undocumented workers constitute 42 percent of the total farm workforce, and their removal is causing food waste and increasing costs, especially in the dairy and meat processing sectors.

In their concluding statement, the 27 agricultural leaders called for an immediate exemption of farm inputs from tariffs and the reversal of policies detrimental to U.S. farmers. They emphasized the broader economic impact of farm losses, stating, "There are few tragedies greater than the loss of a family farm, representing not just a loss of livelihood but a loss of a way of life for rural families."

The January letter from the 56 organizations stressed the urgency, stating, "These trends aren't just statistics; they represent an economic crisis in rural America."