US Agriculture Faces 'Mass Collapse' Risk Due to Trump Policies, Senate Agriculture Chair Warns

[Para 1: The Lead] US Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman, in a meeting on February 4, 2026, warned that U.S. farmers are suffering significant losses due to Trump administration's trade tariffs and immigration policies, facing a risk of a "mass collapse" in the agricultural sector. [Para 2-3: Supporting details & Context] According to economic data, U.S. agricultural financial distress is worsening. Federal Reserve data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2025, new agricultural operating loans increased by nearly 40% compared to the same period last year, and the average size of loans for the entire year increased by 30%. Moreover, a survey by Purdue University and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME) found that the proportion of farmers expected to face financial difficulties in the next year rose sharply from 47% in December 2024 to 59% in January 2025. Economic analysts note farmers are facing多重 pressures: rising costs of agricultural inputs like seeds and fertilizers over the past three years, limited profit margins due to abundant food supplies, and trade disruptions caused by Trump's trade disputes, which have severely impacted agricultural product exports. Tighter immigration policies have also pushed up labor costs and led to some farms losing crops due to lack of harvest workers. Many farmers are preparing for their fourth consecutive year of losses, with the agricultural economic barometer dropping to its lowest point since the pandemic in 2020, at 113.