Iowa farmers are getting a firsthand look at the consequences of Trump’s ill-thought-out decision to slash agencies they depend on. Thanks to GOP-led cuts, the USDA workforce in Iowa has been slashed, leaving the state vulnerable to bird flu outbreaks and sending egg prices soaring. But don’t worry, Republican Joni Ernst, Iowa’s tone-deaf puppet (who’s conveniently up for reelection in 2026), is too busy applauding these cuts to notice the chaos she’s helping cause. She even celebrated the gutting of USAID — while simultaneously whining that it’s “understaffed.”
“Maybe Joni Ernst thinks farmers in Iowa will be too busy scrambling to afford eggs to notice that she’s cheering on the cuts that are affecting their livelihoods,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Nico Delgado. “She’s making the bold and stupid decision to spit in the faces of Iowa farmers while she is nearing her next election. Voters won’t forget.”
Joni Ernst’s message to struggling Iowa farmers:
- “I’m loving what they are doing because without this disruption, it would have been business as usual.”
- “Sometimes it takes a sledge hammer.”
- “So get ready for disruption. Get used to disruption.”
The Washington Post spoke to struggling a corn and soybean farmer in Iowa who blasted Ernst:
Shanon Jamison, a corn and soybean farmer in Iowa, learned in late January that her $69,000 federal reimbursement for a cover crop to boost soil health and slow erosion was frozen due to an executive order from President Donald Trump.
Jamison called and emailed her members of Congress, pleading for help accessing the funds promised to her by the Agriculture Department. Two of them — Sen. Joni Ernst (R) and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) — replied in letters over the past week that the White House’s orders pausing federal loans and grants did not affect funding to farmers.
After The Washington Post contacted the lawmakers’ offices Wednesday, spokespeople said Ernst and Miller-Meeks were advocating for Iowa farmers. But Jamison still doesn’t have her money, and the debt she owes is accruing interest.
“It was very frustrating,” she said Wednesday. “Quite frankly, it seemed like they don’t know what to do.”
Published: Feb 27, 2025