Ahead of Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy’s photo-op with farmers in Bakersfield, California tomorrow, Democratic National Committee spokesperson John Weber released the following statement:

“Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to stand up for hardworking family farmers. Instead, his administration has sided with massive corporate interests and sparked erratic trade wars. Crop prices are still at rock bottom, farm debt is skyrocketing, and more farms are shutting down for good. Rural America is facing an existential crisis; Trump can’t spin that legacy of broken promises with a photo-op.”

“A SLOW, PAINFUL GRIND:” FARMS KEEP CLOSING UNDER TRUMP

HuffPost: Farm Bankruptcies Soared 20% Amid Trump Trade War. It’s The Highest Rate In 8 Years. “As President Donald Trump cast himself as a friend of the farmer at an Iowa campaign rally Thursday, newly released data revealed the number of farms declaring bankruptcies surged by 20% in 2019 — the highest in eight years. The American Farm Bureau attributed the figures, based on court bankruptcy data, to record farm debt and ‘headwinds on the trade front’ triggered by Trump’s trade war.”

California County News: California Farm Bankruptcies Up 65%. “California farm bankruptcies are up 65% this year, echoing a national trend exacerbated by the U.S. trade war with China. There were 28 Chapter 12 filings by California farms in the 12-month period ending September 2019. California saw the third largest increase since the previous year.”

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Farm bankruptcies keep rising in Minnesota and U.S. “‘The situation is just kind of dragging out and wearing people down,’ said Kevin Klair, director of the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota Extension. ‘The big difference between this and the 1980s is we’re not falling off a cliff. It’s a slow, painful grind.’”

Carolina Journal: Rising N.C. farm bankruptcies — canary in the coal mine? “Family farm bankruptcies are on the rise in North Carolina, a signal the rest of the state’s farm economy could be in trouble. […] ‘This latest report is not a surprise to the agriculture community,’ [state Sen. Brent Jackson, R-Sampson] said. ‘Agriculture has been and continues to be in dire straits.’”

KIWA: Iowa Sees Farm Bankruptcies Almost Double In 2019. “A Farm Bureau report says Iowa saw 27 farms file for bankruptcy during 2019. That’s up from just 14 farm bankruptcies the previous year. Chad Hart, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University, says there may be more bankruptcy filings in coming years as the federal government ends trade mitigation payments that supplement farm income.”