Scott Detrow

America's farmers can't seem to catch a break.

Mark Mueller is a fourth-generation farmer from Iowa.

He mainly farms corn and soybeans.

He's also the president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

And this past year has been especially turbulent.

President Trump's tariffs and other trade policies have disrupted export markets, and his immigration crackdown has exacerbated an already serious labor crisis in agriculture.

Now, the war in Iran has caused a spike in fertilizer prices because half of the world's nitrogen fertilizer exports come through the Strait of Hormuz.

If the pain persists for farmers, Mueller says it might bleed into the midterms.

Consider this.

Some of President Trump's policies are testing the support of farmers, many of whom voted for him.

From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow.

A series of Trump administration policy decisions, deportations, tariffs, and the Iran war are ratcheting up the pressure on American farmers.

It's a group that tends to support the president, but persistent challenges may test their patience.

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports on how agriculture is getting squeezed.

That was NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben.

This episode was produced by Christine Arismith, Alejandra Marquez-Hance, and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Meebane.

It was edited by Rebecca Metzler and William Troop.

Our executive producer is Sammy Yannickin.

It's Consider This from NPR.

I'm Scott Detrow.