Trump cultivates farmer loyalty amid fuel and fertilizer price strain from Iran war

The CEOs of Tractor Supply, John Deere, and CNH Industrial will also be present. 

The event, being held to mark National Agriculture Day, comes at a crucial time for the president’s relationship with farmers. The crucial voting coalition had already been strained by disrupted supply chains over the president’s tariff agenda but is now facing further stress from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war. 

The strait, a maritime channel through which about 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies are shipped, is also a chokepoint for global fertilizer, with a third of global seaborne trade in fertilizers traveling through the passage, according to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.

Oil prices soared after the start of the Iran war, hitting a high of $120 a barrel in the week after the start of the conflict. Six of eight major fertilizers cost more this month than last month, according to DTN.

Global crude oil prices have been volatile over the last few weeks following the United States and Israel’s attack on Iran, spiking to over $110 a barrel last week, whereas oil was around $70 before the war started.

A letter from 50 major agriculture groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Soybean Association, said in a letter to Trump, sent on March 19, that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and subsequent rise in costs of fuel and fertilizer are “further straining a farm economy that already had its back against the wall due to record inflation, trade uncertainty, rapidly declining crop prices and catastrophic natural disasters.”

“Maritime freight disruptions from the ongoing conflict in Iran pose significant consequences to food security here at home and around the world,” the letter continued. “This combination of sustained market pressures, weather related challenges and geopolitical uncertainty poses a serious threat to the upcoming growing season and the long-term viability of U.S. agriculture.”

The agricultural groups called on Trump to include “much-needed market relief” for farmers in any defense supplemental package for the Iran war passed by Congress. 

The Pentagon has requested from the White House a $200 billion supplemental package amid the Iran war, and GOP leaders are reportedly weighing adding aid for farmers to the price tag. 

The letter also asked his administration to allow for year-round sales of E15 and provide more tax incentives for the use of domestic agricultural products, among other things.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on Wednesday that the administration was issuing emergency waivers to allow E15 gasoline sales in an effort to ease pain at the gas pump. 

Trump claimed during his Cabinet meeting on Thursday that he will be announcing a “variety of actions” his administration is taking to support U.S. farmers. It’s unclear what those actions will be.

However, the president did tout his doling out $12 billion to farmers from tariff revenue in the form of one-time payments in response to market disruptions and increased production costs.

“But because the tariff money has been so substantial, we gave our farmers who have been mistreated by some countries, we gave them $12 billion, and they’re extremely happy, and they deserve it,” Trump said. 

The Supreme Court overturned the president’s tariff agenda on Feb. 20, and the U.S. Court of International Trade on March 4 ruled that the companies that paid those tariffs were due refunds.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Washington Examiner in a statement that “President Trump is the most pro-farmer President in history.”

She continued, “At Friday’s event marking National Agriculture Day, the President will highlight his agenda to lower input costs, open new trade markets, bolster the farm safety net, double the death tax exemption, end taxes on rural property loan interest, create rural opportunity zones, and more. Unlike Joe Biden, who enabled sky-high inflation and allowed foreign nations to rip off our country, President Trump has farmers’ backs – and the best is yet to come.”

Farmers largely backed Trump in the 2024 election, but there are some warning bells for the White House as they head into the 2026 midterm elections.

The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer found that the number of farmers who feel the U.S. is headed in the right direction is down from 75% in December 2025 to 59% in February.

But despite strain on farmers, Tyson Redpath, chairman of advocacy and business strategy at agricultural relations firm the Russell Group, isn’t concerned about Trump losing support among the coalition.

“I think having talked to farmers … listening to farmers and presentations I’ve made across the country to farmers in the past couple of months, I think the president still enjoys solid support from farmers, from ranchers across the country, I still believe he can count that support as some of his strongest and most resolute,” Redpath said.

IRAN HOLDS STRAIT OF HORMUZ HOSTAGE WITH $2 MILLION TOLL

For Redpath, the effort from the White House to hold an event honoring farmers shows that the Trump White House is supportive of farmers.

Redpath said, “I think the mere celebration of American agriculture, especially as we go into commemorating our 250th birthday, is absolutely right and just the fact that this White House event is tomorrow and it is a celebration of American agriculture, I think, speaks very highly of how the president feels about America’s farmers and ranchers.”