Rechenberg: Iowa Farms Have Suffered from Years of Free Trade Failures

Agriculture has long been a key part of Iowa’s economy. But the state is now facing escalating trouble, including the loss of more than 26,000 family farms since 1982. It’s a reflection of failed trade policies that have hurt thousands of U.S. farms nationwide. And now, the United States is running an unprecedented agricultural trade deficit.

Ironically, as Washington considers President Trump’s tariff proposals, some in his own party are opposed. They argue that tariffs will lead to retaliation against America’s farmers. They want the American public to believe they’re fighting for small family farms. However, it’s the very trade policies they’ve long championed that have devastated family farmers and led to America’s current, massive food trade deficit.

Federal government data reveals that America’s agricultural trade deficit hit a staggering $39 billion in 2024 — the largest in U.S. history. That means America now depends more than ever on food imports. In 2024 alone, the U.S. racked up huge deficits in fruits ($12 billion), meat and seafood ($11 billion), and vegetables ($4.8 billion).

Instead of helping family farms, the “free trade” wing of the GOP that opposes new tariffs is instead pursuing the interests of a few agricultural conglomerates. They’re pushing for trade policies that will benefit a handful of multinational giants — the ones exporting corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton — at the expense of America’s broader food production.

As family farms and the vast majority of the U.S. agricultural sector have suffered, America has only maintained an agricultural trade surplus in the few sectors dominated by large corporations. Soybeans, corn and wheat alone now generate 95% of the nation’s entire agricultural trade surplus.

And so, even as surging imports have destroyed family farms, America’s multinational agricultural giants have enjoyed preferential treatment through the trade agreements negotiated by lobbyists. Despite this help, U.S. export volumes for many grain products — including corn and wheat — have remained stagnant for the past 20 years. In fact, wheat export volumes are currently lower than in 2000. “Free trade” has provided only limited benefits for even these corporate agricultural producers.

In contrast, America’s family farms rarely export their goods. Instead, they sell to local markets, grocery stores, and restaurants. But they’ve been steadily squeezed out of the market by surging imports. From 1987 to 2012, the share of small farms in the U.S. agricultural market dropped from 37.2% to just 14.5%, a toll felt by Iowa’s family farmers. Over the same period, however, multinational agribusinesses saw their market share jump from 38.3% to 66.4%.

What’s now at stake is the independence and resilience of America’s overall agricultural sector. It’s time for Washington to prioritize the importance of locally grown food in the same way that many other countries do.

Americans should be able to buy domestically produced food and support family farms. That means Congress must prioritize the prosperity of all agricultural producers—not cater to the special interests of a few large multinationals. It’s past time for Washington to implement a trade policy that rebuilds independence and prosperity for America’s domestic farmers and producers.