Larew: Farmers Want Change In 2025

As farm country looks ahead to 2025, what are the thoughts and feelings?  Farmers typically are an optimistic bunch, but many are in the mood for change, according to National Farmers Union president Rob Larew.  And he says nowhere is that more evident than Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

“They want relief, they want change, and so I think the real challenge kind of moving forward is being able to bring some focus into that and make sure that Ag has as clear and focused," Larew said.  "Message is possible because I think there's going to be a lot of competing calls for change that may or may not help us.”

Larew added for NFU, the priorities in the first 100 days, other than the Farm Bill, include making sure the Administration has a strong team at USDA that can deliver for farmers when assistance is needed.

“Too often we have disaster assistance that comes so much after the cycle that it's just not there when it's needed.  I think that, you know, beyond that, Farmers Union has been pushing for a long time to kind of push back against all those pressures that's leading to consolidation in agriculture. While some of that might be natural kind of effects of the market, we know that, the impact of the monopolization in some spaces in agriculture are driving up prices for farmers, driving up land prices, continuing to add to the challenges that farmers face out there.  These are issues that are bipartisan, we’re hopeful that this next administration will take that on."

Larew added trade will be another issue NFU will watch closely, especially with Trump’s history of using tariffs, which in many cases hurt the American farmer.  Larew said he expects 2025 to be another challenging year, but if Congress does its job, there is reason for optimism moving forward.

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