Take it from South Dakota Democratic Party farmers: Trump ag and trade policies are disastrous for rural America

Three South Dakota farmers are pushing back against President Trump’s farm policies.

In a video released Tuesday morning, South Dakota Democratic Party Chair Shane Merrill, former legislator Frank Kloucek and former Lake County Commissioner Charlie Johnson said Trump has displayed a blatant disregard for the men and women in their industry.

They are especially upset about Trump’s focus on bolstering the Argentinian economy and beef industry.

“I was a little bit surprised when the U.S. government had announced they had given aid to Argentina, especially when we have so many programs right here and people in America that are hurting and could definitely use it,” Merrill said.

“Who benefits from us helping Argentina and importing beef from Argentina?” Kloucek said in the video. “It’s not the consumers. It’s not the producers. It’s not the middle men, the grocers. It’s the guy in the White House.”

Johnson said he is troubled by Trump investing up to $40 billion in Argentina.

Johnson refers to the Argentinian government as a “dictatorship.” Its president,  Javier Milei, is a far-right libertarian who has expressed support for previous governments that were led by one man.

Johnson said Trump is a “dictator in making” who wants to see Argentina return to authoritarian rule. He said the massive United States’ contribution in that nation comes with a hoped-for return, and is also linked to Argentinian investments by friends of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“It’s all about cronyism and protecting billionaire deep pockets,” Johnson said.

Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and columnist, said in his substack, “some U.S. hedge fund billionaires, personally close to Bessent, bet big on Milei and bought Argentine bonds.”

“The bailout package almost surely won’t succeed in turning Argentina’s economy around and probably won’t rescue Milei politically,” Krugman wrote. “But it may buy enough time for Bessent’s buddies to get much of their money out before the bottom falls out of the Argentine economy.”

Johnson said this is typical Trump politics.

“America first has been replaced by Argentina first,” he said in the video.

Milei and Trump have formed an alliance, and as we have learned, you must be in his good graces for the United States to work with you. It’s government by personal preference.

“They’re fighting for their life. You understand what that means? They have no money, they have no anything. They’re fighting so hard to survive,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Oct. 19. “If I can help them survive in a free world — I happen to like the president of Argentina, I think he’s trying to do the best he can. But don’t make it sound like they’re doing great.”

The three South Dakota Democratic farmers are more concerned about American agriculture.

Johnson is a lifelong South Dakotan and third-generation farmer who farms with his two brothers and his son south of Madison. He’s an organic farmer with crops much like his neighbors: Corn, oats, soybeans and alfalfa. They also operate a cow-calf operation.

Kloucek, a fourth-generation farmer who raises corn, soybeans, wheat and hay while also operating a cow-calf business. He said farmers are struggling.

“We believe very strongly in the family farm and what it stands for,” Kloucek said. “It’s definitely under attack right now.”

He said Argentinian beef will flood the American market. Reports that only high-end cuts will be shipped here for sale in steakhouses is “fictitious,” Kloucek said.

“If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge in Arizona I want to sell you,” he said.

Kloucek said the current farm economy is evoking memories of the Great Depression in the 1930s and the Farm Crisis of the 1980s.

“When that happens, the farmers usually take it in the shorts,” he said.

Kloucek, who operates a family farm in rural Scotland, served 22 years in the South Dakota Legislature. He is a fixture at SDDP events and remains an enthusiastic and friendly man with a deep love for politics. He may attempt a return to the capital if he runs for the Public Utilities Commission next year, as is rumored.

Merrill, a former Parker city councilman who ran a relatively close race for the state Senate in 2016, credits Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin for the video. Martin is a Minnesotan who understands Midwest issues, with providing the staff and money to create the video, Merrill said.

Merrill said earlier this year, he talked to Martin about changing the party’s focus to issues that impact all Americans, including rural folks.

“He followed through on it and I was real pleased with it,” he said.

Merrill said the DNC sent a woman from Georgia to produce the video and hired a videographer from Sioux Falls to visit his farm and Kloucek’s one day, and Johnson’s the next.

“I thought it turned out pretty good,” he said. It’s on the party’s Facebook page and all its social media channels.

Merrill admits being a Democrat in South Dakota remains a major challenge. The party holds no statewide offices and is heavily outnumbered in the Legislature, the Republicans holding 97 seats and Democrats just eight after state Rep. Peri Pourier switched parties in September.

But he said while farmers remain very conservative, Trump’s tariffs, which greatly impacted soybean sales, and the Argentinian beef deal “opened some eyes,” Merrill said.

Fewer young people are returning home to farm, leading to a drop in family farms, he said.

“We’re going to lose this way of life if we don’t fight to keep it,” Merrill said.

Now, it’s a matter of convincing voters that Democrats care about their concerns. Farmers should be more receptive, he and Kloucek said, since they harvested record crops but lower prices for corn and soybeans will likely mean a losing year.

“I think the biggest thing is Ken Martin comes from Minnesota and wants a renewed 50 state plus territories strategy with emphasis on rural America,” Merrill said. “One of my favorite things about being involved in politics is sharing our farm/rural way of life on the local and national stage, I am the only active farmer of the state party chairs giving unique insights and a voice for those of us out here who don’t have one at the national level.”

Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.

Photo:  public domain, wikimedia commons

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