At an April 8, 2025 nomination hearing for top USDA roles, Senator Amy Klobuchar delivered a direct warning about the perilous state of American agriculture. She described how small and mid-sized farmers are being crushed by a perfect storm of rising input costs, retaliatory tariffs, and a wave of program freezes under the Trump administration.
“This may be what puts them over,” she said, referring to the potential collapse of small farms already reeling from economic strain.
She emphasized how these conditions disproportionately hurt small operations, while larger farms are more likely to absorb the damage. Klobuchar also challenged USDA nominees Stephen Vaden and Tyler Clarkson to fight for rural America, restore funding stability, and bring sanity back to U.S. trade policy.
With 20% of American farm production exported, Klobuchar’s plea was clear: “We need trade, not aid.”
Her statement underscores the urgency for bipartisan action and stable leadership at USDA, particularly as Congress considers the next farm bill.
The Founding Press 
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