farm loans

Lawmakers also continued funding for a farmer suicide prevention hotline.

Farmers continued to take on more debt through the first quarter of 2025, prolonging a trend from last year. That's as farm incomes have shrunk over the last couple of years, and some worry President Trump's tariffs could make economic conditions tougher.

The U.S. trade war with China is coming at a tough time for American farmers, who are already dealing with lower crop prices and higher costs for farm necessities. Tariffs are likely to push crop prices further down, while increasing the costs for fertilizer and farm equipment.

Thousands of Oklahomans got payments from a Biden-era program to help address generations of farm lending discrimination. Now, the Trump Administration wants to end programs that could be labeled as DEI. Some Oklahoma programs have already seen funding freezes.

The department announced enrollment for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program opened this week.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said earlier this month that economic aid payments Congress approved late last year are on the way. But with days left before the deadline, some farmers are anxiously waiting.

Farmers are failing to pay their loans at the highest rate in nearly a decade, Forbes reports. The loan delinquencies appear to be due to declining crop…