Rural Policy Response

I’m a multigenerational family dairy farmer, and a mental health advocate for the 46 million people who call rural America their home.  

I am deeply concerned by the actions taken by the current administration regarding the newly imposed tariffs that will damage an already fragile agricultural marketplace in this country.

In our work at Rural Minds, we often cite statistics about what rural communities and the farming communities specifically deal with even before these tariffs were imposed. People in rural America, for example, are already 65% more likely to die by suicide than people living in large urban areas, and farmers are twice as likely to take their own lives compared to workers in other professions.

The expected economic impact of these tariffs will likely also take a toll on the mental health of those working in what is already a challenging business.

The tariffs are largely aimed at Canada, Mexico, and China. Our friends at the American Farm Bureau recently released statistics that more than 20% of U.S farm income comes from exports, which are dominated by those three countries. In 2024 alone, the U.S. exported more than $30 billion in agricultural products to Mexico, $29 billion to Canada and $26 billion to China – our top three markets and nearly half of all exports by value combined.

On Tuesday, March 4th, China announced that they will now impose levies on U.S. food imports, and they have revoked the right of three international commodities firms to ship American soybeans to China. Mexico and Canada are expected to announce their own plans soon. Regarding Canada, it’s important to note that more than 80% of the potash used in fertilizer by American farmers comes from Canada. Fertilizer is already extremely expensive and any additional tariffs by Canada will be devastating for the American farmers that rely on fertilizer to grow affordable, nutritious, and quality crops for both human and animal consumption.

Even during the best of times, agriculture is a fragile business and one that has many factors that are outside the control of the people who grow our food and fiber. As a life-long farmer and agriculturalist, I can tell you that unlike any other business that I know, farming is a roller coaster with glorious peaks and disastrous valleys. It’s a business always at the mercy of Mother Nature, and within the past year alone, thousands of farms across America were negatively impacted, if not destroyed, by floods, wildfires, mudslides, tornados, hurricanes.

Ill-conceived actions now taking place by the administration will have a devastating, long-term impact on an industry and people I love dearly and exacerbate an already dire situation. These are the people who work diligently, 365 days a year, to feed and clothe us. They deserve better.

Please join me in making our voices heard. I urge you to contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives to press the Administration to address this issue as a top priority.

All my best,

Jeff Winton

Founder and Chairman, Rural Minds