Some farmers and rural voters continue to support Donald Trump even while expressing concern about the farm economy. The clearest 2024 survey evidence shows those views coexisting, not why any particular farmer held them: a poll of rural residents found strong support for Trump, while most respondents said U.S. agriculture was worse off than four years earlier. Broader voter surveys point to economic concerns, inflation and immigration as important to Trump voters generally, but do not establish farmers’ specific motivations.
What does the evidence say about farmers’ support for Trump?
The most directly relevant election evidence comes from the DTN/Progressive Farmer Pulse of Rural America, a 2024 survey of 1,393 rural residents in 46 states. As many as 90% of respondents were farmers, ranchers or rural landowners, but it was not a representative poll of farmers alone. Its finding was a pre-election stated preference, not a final vote count.
In that survey, 70% of respondents said they supported Trump. The report’s historical comparison put his support at 50% in 2020 and 46% in 2016. At the same time, 72% said U.S. agriculture was worse off than four years earlier. The results show that support and dissatisfaction existed side by side; they do not show that the same individuals held both views or identify what motivated their choices. DTN/Progressive Farmer’s survey report
Why might farm concerns coexist with political support?
Economic strain and a choice at the ballot box are not contradictory. A voter can be unhappy with farm conditions while judging a candidate, party or proposed policy more favorably than the alternative. But the available surveys do not rank farmers’ reasons or show that any one policy explains their support.
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A separate University of Illinois Gardner Food & Agricultural Policy Survey offers context about Trump voters, not farmers specifically. The November 2024 wave was an online survey of U.S. consumers recruited to match the population by gender, age, household income and geographic region. Among surveyed Trump voters, 33.0% named cost of living or inflation as their most important election issue and 27.8% named the economy. Their average influence ratings were 8.7 out of 10 for both the economy and inflation, and 8.2 for immigration. These findings describe the broader group of surveyed Trump voters; they cannot be treated as a measure of farmers’ priorities. University of Illinois Gardner survey findings
Do farmers support Trump’s tariffs?
The evidence does not establish how many farmers support Trump because of tariffs. It captures differing expectations and concerns, not a settled judgment about tariff outcomes.
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The White House reported in 2025 that 70% of farmers expected Trump’s tariffs to strengthen agriculture in the long term. That is an administration-reported expectation, not evidence that tariffs actually strengthened farm incomes or markets. White House account of farmers’ tariff expectations
A June 2025 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas survey asked agricultural bankers—not farmers about their political preferences—whether additional government payments would partly mitigate farm-income losses from trade-policy changes. Among 45 responses, 51.1% expected the payments to help partly, and 37.8% said they did not know. Bankers also described risks including weaker commodity values, higher input costs, shrinking margins and uncertainty about where and at what price producers could sell. Dallas Fed agricultural survey
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These sources leave room for different producer assessments: some may expect long-term leverage or market gains, while others may worry about retaliation, costs and disrupted sales. They do not establish which view is more common among farmers who support Trump.
How do farm aid and policy benefits fit in?
Some farmers have welcomed federal assistance as a short-term bridge amid low commodity prices, rising costs and reduced sales, while also wanting less reliance on ad hoc payments. The Associated Press quoted Minnesota farmer Charlie Radman saying, “It’s a bridge. It’s not the ultimate solution we’re looking for.” He added, “What we really want to have is a little more certainty and not have to rely on these ad hoc payments.” Associated Press report on farmers and federal aid
USDA’s account of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, signed July 4, 2025, highlights provisions affecting family farms and pass-through businesses, higher ARC and PLC payment limits, and crop insurance. Those are descriptions of provisions, not an independent evaluation of their effects or proof that they caused political support. USDA summary of the law’s farm provisions
There is also a longer-term trade concern: in a December 2024 analysis, The Atlantic quoted Sandro Steinbach, director of North Dakota State University’s Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies, arguing that trade conflicts encouraged foreign buyers to diversify away from U.S. products. That is expert analysis, not a finding from a voter survey. The Atlantic’s analysis of trade conflicts and agriculture
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- Rural support was substantial in one pre-election poll. Its respondents were rural residents, many with agriculture ties, not a farmer-only sample.
- Economic dissatisfaction did not erase support. The same survey reported widespread concern about agriculture’s condition, but does not explain individual decisions.
- Broader voter findings are context, not farmer-specific evidence. The University of Illinois survey connects Trump voters generally with economic, inflation and immigration concerns.
- Tariff expectations are not measured outcomes. The White House reported optimism; agricultural bankers also described possible losses and uncertainty.
- Aid and policy provisions can matter without resolving uncertainty. Farmers quoted by the AP valued short-term support but wanted more predictability, while USDA describes provisions in the 2025 law without independently assessing their impact.
The evidence documents the coexistence of support and concern more clearly than it explains the causes. It does not isolate the roles of partisan identity, culture, media use or community ties among farmers who support Trump, so claims that any one of these is the reason go beyond what these sources establish.
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