Arkansas Farmers Plead for Emergency Aid Amid Worsening Crisis

Hundreds of struggling farmers across Arkansas are urging the federal government to deliver

immediate emergency funding as the state’s farm economy faces one of its worst crises in decades.

This year brought a perfect storm of challenges: collapsing global markets, steep drops in commodity prices, soaring input costs driven by inflation and tariffs, and damaging weather earlier in the season. For many, survival now feels out of reach.

“Just last year, rice prices were about 40 percent higher than they are today. Fertilizer is up, inputs are up, and prices keep going down,” said Derek Haigwood, a farmer from Independence and Jackson counties. “After a terrible year in which most Arkansas Delta farmers lost money, this year is going to be even worse.”

Although President Trump’s recent farm bill expanded safety-net subsidies, those payments

won’t arrive until late next year. By then, projections suggest that up to one-third of Arkansas farmers could face bankruptcy or be forced to abandon family operations that have lasted generations.

For some, that future has already arrived.“I’m a sixth-generation farmer from Newport, and we decided to shut down this spring,” said one farmer. “My son won’t be the seventh generation on our farm.”

The crisis has also taken a devastating toll on mental health. One equipment financier who works with local producers shared a grim statistic: “In the last 14 months, five of my customers have committed suicide. That’s how serious this is.”

On Tuesday, dozens of farmers gathered in Brookland to speak with staff from Arkansas’ congressional delegation, pleading with lawmakers and the governor to press the White House for immediate relief.

“We have to have ad hoc payments right now to make it through this year,” Haigwood said. Woodruff County farmer Chris King added, “If there’s no emergency funding, one out of three farmers will file bankruptcy.”

Gene Higginbotham, district director for Congressman Rick Crawford, promised to carry their concerns back to Washington: “We’re going to do everything we can to get you the help you need.”

For now, many farmers say all they can do is hold on—and pray.