Podcast Summary: What A Day

Episode Title: The Reality of Being An American Farmer Right Now
Host: Jane Coaston (Crooked Media)
Date: October 27, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the mounting pressures facing American farmers, especially soybean and corn producers, amid renewed tariffs and trade wars under President Trump. Jane Coaston sits down with Wisconsin farmer Phil Verges for an honest, ground-level perspective on how federal policy and global economics play out on U.S. farmland. The episode also touches on government shutdown consequences, new debates over beef imports, and escalating military tensions abroad, but its heart is in the raw realities of farming in America today.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Tariffs and the Agricultural Economy

• Segment: [00:02–03:36]

  • Tariffs are back as a major Trump administration tool, particularly in the trade war with China—a country that once bought a third of U.S. soybeans.
  • Previous tariffs during Trump’s first term led to a 30% price drop for soybeans, resulting in a $32 billion bailout for farmers in 2020.
  • New framework deals on tariffs have been announced but lack concrete relief for farmers.

• Notable Moment:

  • Treasury Secretary Scott Besant claimed an understanding of farmer pain, saying, “Well, Martha, in case you don't know it, I'm actually a soybean farmer. So I have felt this pain, too.” ([01:40])
  • Coaston fact-checks: Besant is a wealthy landowner and collects rental income, not an active farmer, highlighting disconnects in policy leadership.

2. Phil Verges: Life on the Land

• Segment: [02:33–11:59]
  • Background:
    • Phil is a lifelong farmer in western Wisconsin, operating a one-man, 500-acre corn, soybean, and hay farm. “I've been a lifelong farmer... it's been real pleasure to be able to do what I've liked all my life.” ([02:48])
  • Tariffs’ Impact:
    • The first round of tariffs “was a shock to our market,” leading China to invest in South American suppliers.
    • “Currently, with today's prices, I'm losing probably about $85 an acre on soybeans that I'm growing.” ([03:37])
  • Financial Hardship:
    • “In our family, we relied on credit card debt to get us through some of those years... because we were making little or no money.” ([04:59])
  • Recovery and New Challenges:
    • Temporary, post-COVID price boosts due to droughts helped.
    • Now, abundant harvests and new tariffs have again depressed prices, while input costs (especially fertilizer) rise sharply.
    • “Our fertilizer costs are up significantly for next year... and the tariffs are having a significant impact on that.” ([07:01])
  • Retirement Pressure:
    • Phil is being forced to dip into savings: “We're pulling money out of our retirement savings to make ends meet here lately, the last year or so, and that's difficult...” ([07:43])
    • Younger farmers face even greater uncertainty; if Phil were a decade younger, he’d consider quitting farming altogether.
  • Emotional Toll and Farming’s Future:
    • Farmer mood: “The mood is quite disheartening overall... a lot of, I hate to say depression, but you know, folks are not feeling good about where we are right now.” ([09:01])
    • Striking comparison: “You work all year and have nothing to show for it... Instead of getting our paycheck, we're owing our employer, you know, tens of thousands of dollars in some cases.” ([09:44])
  • How to Help:
    • Phil’s advice: “As we move forward, we have to make some better choices with the policies that we choose. I don't know. There aren't any real easy answers...” ([11:20])
    • He expresses gratitude for public support, noting farmers aren’t the only ones struggling.

Notable Quotes

• “Currently, with today's prices, I'm losing probably about $85 an acre on soybeans that I'm growing.” —Phil Verges ([03:37])
• “We're limping into retirement, I guess you could say.” —Phil Verges ([07:43])
• “You work all year and have nothing to show for it... at the end of the year, instead of getting our paycheck, we're owing our employer.” —Phil Verges ([09:44])
• “There aren't any real easy answers, I'm afraid, Jane.” —Phil Verges ([11:20])

3. Headlines Update: Shutdown, Beef, and Foreign Policy

• Segment: [14:27–22:35]

a. Government Shutdown Strain

• Prolonged shutdown leaves air-traffic controllers and other federal workers seeking side jobs (“The controllers are wearing thin... they're looking, can I drive Uber?” —[14:43]).
• Secretary Besant reiterates administration blaming Democrats for the closure ([15:35]).
• Key federal programs like SNAP are nearing funding crises; Trump administration slows contingency funds to pressure Democrats ([16:03]).

b. Military Payroll and Donor Politics

• A secret $130 million donation from billionaire Timothy Mellon is revealed as the source for paying military salaries, bypassing Congressional power of the purse ([17:25]).
• Senator Chris Murphy warns: “This is a leader who is trying to transition our government from a democracy to something much closer to a totalitarian state.” ([16:49])
• Legal experts from AEI and OMB call the maneuver "probably illegal" and "super duper illegal" ([17:25]).

c. The Beef Import Controversy

• Trump administration plans to quadruple beef imports from Argentina to lower prices and aid Argentina draw criticism from both ranchers and allies like Sen. Chuck Grassley:
  • “The message to the president is pretty simple. Undercutting American beef is not putting America first.” —Chuck Grassley ([19:29])
• The move alarms cattle ranchers already strained by tariff-induced inflation (beef prices are up 15%).
• Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene disavows the policy as being someone else’s idea and not Trump’s ([17:25]).

d. Rising Military Tensions

• Ongoing, undeclared U.S. military strikes target drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific; deployment of advanced carriers to South America escalates situation.
• Trump refuses to seek Congressional authorization: “I don't think we're going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we're just going to kill... they're going to be like, dead. Okay.” ([21:17])
• Bipartisan calls for Congressional consultation are voiced by Senators Lankford and Coons ([20:56]) and Graham notes possible land operations in Venezuela and Colombia ([22:01]).
• The Senate may vote on a war powers resolution related to South America ([22:35]).

Memorable Moments & Tone

• Jane Coaston’s commentary is laced with wit, skepticism, and down-to-earth concern (“I'm actually okay that robots do not have humanoid hands. Actually, I'd rather they never have humanoid hands.” —[00:02]).
• Phil Verges' candor and emotional honesty anchor the episode, making the toll on farmers vivid for listeners.
• Satirical notes when referencing political doublespeak or contradictions, especially in the beef import and government funding segments.

Important Timestamps

• Tariffs and Farmer Finances: [02:33–06:58]
• Personal Impact/Younger Farmer Struggles: [07:43–11:56]
• Shutdown & Military Donor Funding: [14:27–17:25]
• Beef Import Plan & Congressional Response: [17:25–20:21]
• Military Escalations & War Powers: [20:56–22:35]

Conclusion

This episode delivers a rare, nuanced look at the lives of American farmers negotiating not just markets and weather, but the shifting realities of trade wars, political grandstanding, and global economic currents. Through Phil Verges’ voice, listeners experience the grit, exhaustion, and thin margins that define modern American agriculture—and are reminded that policy debates have deeply personal consequences far from Capitol Hill.