MPR News with Angela Davis

How the Trump administration’s policies are affecting farmers

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday

Vegetables at HAFA Farm are visible
Vegetables at the Hmong American Farmers Association farm in Vermillion Township southeast of the Twin Cities on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News

From tariffs to funding cuts and inflation to climate change, Minnesota farmers are dealing with a lot. 

Recent directives from the Trump administration have paused federal funding on some programs that support farmers.  

Meanwhile, tariffs could lower prices farmers get for their crops while increasing prices they pay to produce them.

Coming up at 9 a.m. Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about how recent changes from the White House could affect Minnesota farmers.

And we want to hear from you, too. 

Are you a farmer? How are the Trump administration’s tariffs and funding cuts affecting you? Are there recent changes you support? Are there any that concern you? Why?  

Call us during the 9 a.m. hour at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.   

Guests:

  • Thom Petersen is the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Before being appointed commissioner, he was the director of government relations for the Minnesota Farmers Union. He has spent most of his life working for a horse and farm business.  

  • Friendly Vang-Johnson is the director of government affairs for the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association. She is the owner and operator of Friendly Hmong Farms, which offers consulting and technical assistance to small-scale BIPOC farmers. Her family has been farming in Minnesota for almost 45 years.

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