A meeting of farmers in Brookland, Arkansas last week sounded less like a routine check-in and more like a last-chance plea. Facing skyrocketing input costs, tumbling crop prices, and back-to-back years of losses, hundreds of farmers gathered to tell congressional staffers they are at the breaking point.
“This time last year, the rice price was about 40 percent higher than it is now,” farmer Derek Haigwood said, speaking to KATV-TV. “Inputs costs have gone up, fertilizer has gone up, commodity prices have gotten worse. So, after a horrible year last year where most farmers in Arkansas, Delta, lost money, this year is going to be worse.”
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For many, the numbers no longer add up. One Newport farmer, who described herself as a sixth-generation grower, said his family tradition has officially ended. “We made the decision to go out this year, in the spring,” he said. “So, my son will not be the seventh generation on our farm.”
The pain is everywhere. “In the last 14 months, five of my customers have committed suicide,” said another farmer, who also finances agricultural equipment. “That’s how serious this is.”
The sense of urgency was clear in the room. Farmers are demanding immediate relief in the form of ad hoc federal payments, arguing that without them, Arkansas agriculture will collapse before next spring’s planting. “We have to have ad hoc payments right now to make it through this year,” Haigwood told the outlet.
Chris King, who farms in Woodruff County, put it bluntly: “If there’s no emergency funding this year, there will be one out of three farmers who will file bankruptcy.”
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That figure drew gasps, but it wasn’t hard to believe. Commodity prices have been sliding, loans are coming due, and the federal subsidies included in what President Donald Trump dubbed his “Big, Beautiful Bill” won’t reach growers until late next year. For families who have already burned through their safety nets, that timeline might as well be forever.
“We need our exports and we need somebody to help us get our markets back,” Chris King told KAIT-TV “We just need to be paid for what we do and that’s not happening.”
His wife, Melissa King, added her perspective: “Prices that we are getting now are prices like they were when we were children, and what it costs for us to farm is astronomical now. The price of a combine when we were kids was in the $20,000s, and now it’s $100,000.”
The frustrations didn’t stop there. Scott Brown told KAIT-TV, “I farm 800 acres by myself, I can’t afford any help, I farm with paid-for equipment, all my tractors are 50 years old, and I can’t hardly make this deal work.” He said that if he’s barely hanging on with equipment already paid off, the burden is even heavier for farmers still saddled with debt. “I think the tariffs are the ice cream on the cake of the perfect storm,” he said. Brown explained that without tariffs, U.S. soybeans are cheaper than Brazilian beans at current market prices, but once tariffs are added, Brazil becomes the cheaper option.
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The meeting ended not with promises, but with prayer. One farmer bowed his head and said aloud what many were already feeling: “Farmers, in my opinion, dear Lord, they’re closer to you than anyone else on this earth because we deal with your earth every day. Dear Lord, we’re hurting, dear Lord. We can’t help what’s happened to us. We need help, dear Lord.”
Rep. Rick Crawford’s district director, Gene Higginbotham, told the crowd: “We’re going to take your message. We’re going to get it back to D.C. and we’re going to do everything we can to get you the help you need.”
According to KATV, Arkansas Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, along with Crawford issued a joint statement recognizing the challenge. “We are proud to have delivered multiple forms of key support and assistance that, combined, total over $80 billion since last December,” they said. “These reforms and investments, once implemented, will help address economic challenges and natural disasters to preserve family farms.”
Until the checks actually arrive, though, Arkansas farmers will keep waiting, watching their fields, and hoping they’re not the ones who lose farms that, in some cases, have lasted generations.
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