Billionaires don't know a thing about farming. So why are we letting them run the Ag Department into the ground?

Right now, the Trump/Musk machine is planning to dismantle the Department of Agriculture headquarters, lay off thousands more workers, sell off one of their buildings in D.C., and still plan to close dozens of field offices as well.

This will effectively destroy the USDA as we know it.

Farmers have been reeling for months now from sudden unpaid grants, contracts, and reimbursements when the federal government abruptly ended programs with no notice.

No farmer can just "ride this out" as President Trump keeps saying we have to do.

Farmers work closely with the USDA to improve operations, manage risk, and implement new infrastructure and best practices. They also provide critical assistance through loans, grants, and crop insurance programs that help farmers stay the course when unpredictable weather, market fluctuations, or other disruptions hit.

Farmers need a functioning, effective government to work with, but right now, Trump is going back on his campaign promise to help and support American farmers and ranchers.

Sloppy, disruptive changes like these will leave a huge black mark on family farms and smaller, independent producers who can't weather a lack of access to credit, markets, or customer bases.

It's another disaster by design – and we're going to fight like hell to stop it.

You can help by calling your Member of Congress and your U.S. Senators to tell them to stop the shutdown of the USDA.

To say it plainly, farmers can't afford to wait and see if Trump and Musk's experiments with running a government pan out. We need stability now.

Heidi

Heidi Heitkamp, Former U.S. Senator for North Dakota
Founder, One Country Project