Republicans Push $12 Billion Farm Aid as 50% Canada Tariffs Deepen Farmer Crisis

2 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 25

$12 billion in emergency farm aid has become a top GOP priority, but leaders tied it to Iran war funding in a reconciliation package that still lacks near-unanimous Republican support.
50% tariffs on Canada, higher fuel and fertilizer costs from the Iran war, and weak crop prices are squeezing farm income, with some producers reporting profit hits of 40% to 50%.
Farm groups are split: the American Farm Bureau backs immediate relief, while the National Farmers Union and Iowa Farmers Union say linking aid to war funding could worsen the same cost pressures hurting farmers.
The aid push comes as the nearly 8-year-old farm bill nears another deadline at the end of September, with Congress still deadlocked over commodity support and food-stamp funding.
Iowa and about a dozen competitive House districts with large agricultural bases could make the farm squeeze politically costly for Republicans before the Nov. 3 midterms.