Trump admin is 'out of touch' with American farmers: Soybean farmer

[0:00] Joining us, soybean farmer and founder and president of the National Black Farmers [0:04] Association. You know, I'm not sure, John Boyd Jr., you really need an introduction [0:08] on this show anymore. It's good to see you, as always. So I hear that you reached out to the [0:15] White House today about possibly attending this event. Did they ever get back to you? [0:20] Nothing, nothing. I think you said it was 800 farmers there and the National Black Farmers [0:26] Association not be extended. An invitation shows you the level of what this administration is all [0:33] about. You know, gold tractor out there. It sounds like a pep rally for John Deere. Black farmers [0:39] and other small and socially disadvantaged farmers, farmers of color, we don't have money [0:44] to buy a new tractor. I mean, what I've witnessed today was somewhat insulting to farmers. We have [0:50] 190 farmers facing foreclosure right now. I didn't hear anything from the [0:56] president. I didn't hear anything from the president. I didn't hear anything from the [0:56] president about issuing a farm moratorium, which is something I reached out to that same White House [1:02] and asked for. We need a complete farm moratorium on guaranteed loans for our farm operating loans [1:08] and other agricultural lenders. We shouldn't be losing our farm. It's a man-made problem that [1:14] this administration did with its tariffs. And now this war, fertilizer prices have increased 40 percent. [1:22] That's anywhere between $140 a ton to [1:26] $200 a ton. 37 percent increase in diesel fuel is up to, in my area, $5 and $6 a gallon for off-road [1:37] diesel fuel. And the president got the audacity enough to go out and say, oh, just buy some new [1:42] tractors. I mean, I listened to that stuff. I didn't hear anything that any sort of immediate [1:47] resolve for distressed farmers out here that, you know, can't pay the fertilizer bill. Do you know [1:53] that the increase in fertilizer is going to cause, [1:57] American farmers, an additional $100,000 per farmer? And the president has got some gold [2:04] tractor up there to buy tractors and get loans from SBA. What farmer needs another loan when he's [2:11] in foreclosure due to the president's poor policies? [2:16] As these fertilizer prices rise, what could that do to you, to your business? [2:22] Well, right now, a lot of these companies aren't even offering the fertilizer because [2:28] it's not going to be available. It's not going to be available. It's not going to be available. [2:28] It's not readily available. And the secretary of agriculture said something that she was really [2:34] out of touch with, that farmers already have fertilizer, all of this stuff. I met with some [2:40] farmers out in Illinois, and some was from far west Indiana. None of those farmers in the meeting [2:46] this week had fertilizer. So that shows you right there that this administration is really out of [2:54] touch with American farmers. They're only talking to a handful of farmers and bringing [2:59] those people to the table and their friends. [3:01] And if you don't have fertilizer, do we have food? [3:06] It's going to be hard to make a crop, people, without fertilizer. It's the first [3:09] step in the process. Farmers have to apply an application of fertilizer so that the crop can [3:15] make, so it can have some onions and tomatoes and corn and all the things that we grow for the [3:21] American people every day. Without fertilizer, it's going to be hard for that crop to even make. [3:26] The price of diesel fuel, my tractor holds 100, [3:30] 200 gallons of fuel and $500 to $600. That's $500 to $600 every time I have to fill up, you know, [3:37] and I read these comments. People say, well, you know, boy, no one voted for this president. [3:41] I didn't vote for this president. I was on this network telling farmers and everybody to vote [3:47] for Harris, and we probably wouldn't be in this mess that we're in now. But [3:51] that's what we're underneath the bridge. We're still farmers, and we need support. We have 190 [3:58] farmers facing farm foreclosure, and no one— [3:59] —— [4:00] stepped up and called me to say, hey, boy, how can we get these farmers out of foreclosure? [4:05] These are generational farmers, generational skill set. And when you lose that level of [4:11] farm and taking them out of agriculture production, that's going to hurt this country. [4:14] And the people who are going to pay are the poor American consumers that's going into the [4:19] supermarket that's going to be paying $5 for an apple and all of these other things that [4:23] we grow every day that we take advantage of. It's not going to be readily available. [4:27] Well, the president was out there holding the pep rally for bonds and tractors. [4:32] It's totally out of our touch here. [4:36] John Boyd Jr., always good to see you. Thank you for speaking out. I know that [4:40] the tariffs had battered your business enough as it is, but to deal with this too, I can't imagine. [4:47] Thank you. [4:48] And my hat goes off to farmers because they are afraid to speak out and get [4:52] retaliation from this administration. So the American people support our black farmers, [4:57] go to our network. [4:58] Black farmers. [4:59] Black farmers. [4:59] Blackfarmers.org. We need your support. We need it now. And thank you so much for having me. [5:03] We appreciate you. You always speak out.