Farmers Over Billionaires

At every turn, the Trump administration and MAGA Republicans have catered to billionaire and corporate donors while Michiganders fall further and further behind. Family farmers are bearing the brunt. With the illegal war in Iran and the needless tariff war with Canada spiking costs, their policies are sending the price of diesel through the roof right at the start of harvest season. The Trump Administration might as well be waging an all-out war against Michigan farmers. 

Mike Rogers backs every single one of Trump’s price hikes. His policies would further devastate Michigan farmers. But family farmers are the lifeblood of our state, and they deserve better than the Rogers-Trump’ anti-worker, anti-farmer agenda. 

That’s why I’m launching my Farmers Over Billionaires policy agenda. Our broken politics has put the interests of corporations, monopolies, and billionaires over the interests of our rural communities for far too long. That ends when I get to the United States Senate. Michigan farmers will always have their U.S. Senator in their corner as we fight together for better opportunities and lower costs.

Pass Right to Repair Law:

  • Michigan farmers should be able to fix their own equipment. Instead, manufacturers like John Deere force them to wait for expensive dealer service, sometimes weeks, in the middle of planting or harvest seasons. 
  • Abdul will champion a federal right-to-repair law, building on the bipartisan-minded Freedom for Agricultural Repair and Maintenance (FARM) Act, requiring manufacturers to sell the manuals, parts, software, and tools needed to diagnose and repair equipment to farmers and independent repair shops at fair prices.

Break Up Ag Monopolies That Are Pricing Out Family Farmers:

  • Four companies (Tyson, Cargill, JBS, and National Beef) control about 85 percent of U.S. beef processing. When so few buyers control the market, ranchers get squeezed on what they’re paid, and families pay more at the grocery store.
  • Abdul will work in the US Senate to enforce antitrust laws and break up monopolies across the agriculture industry—including meatpacking—that are pricing out family farmers and driving up costs for Michigan families. 
  • Abdul supports passage of the bipartisan Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act, which would create a team at USDA with subpoena power to investigate anticompetitive meatpacking practices and coordinate with the DOJ and the FTC. 

Cut Red Tape So Farmers Can Get the Help They Need

  • Farmers shouldn’t need a lawyer or have to spend a weekend doing paperwork to get a loan or sign up for a program. Abdul will fight to simplify USDA applications, cut duplicative paperwork, provide plain-language guidance, and make it easy to apply online, so farmers spend their time farming and not filling out forms.
  • He will support the bipartisan USDA Express Loan Act, which would create a simplified short-form application and faster decisions on guaranteed farm ownership and operating loans, getting farmers answers when they need to buy seed, equipment, or land.

Protect Farmers From Trump’s Illegal, Devastating Tariffs

  • Abdul will fight back against Donald Trump’s illegal trade wars and work to refund farmers for the costs his devastating tariffs have inflicted on farms across the state. 
  • He will support the Tariff Free Farming Act, which would cap tariffs on seed, fertilizer, feed, fuel, machinery, and other farm inputs at their January 2025 levels, even under emergency trade powers.

Expand Market Access for Farms, Strengthen Local Food Systems, And Invest In Sustainable Aviation Fuel:

  • Abdul will invest in local and regional food systems to open up new market opportunities for farmers and expand access to healthy food, including boosting value-added processing, promoting farm-to-school, and expanding independent meat processing infrastructure.
  • He will support the bipartisan Local Farmers Feeding our Communities Act, which would restore funding to connect local farmers with community food programs like food banks—giving Michigan growers a dependable local buyer and families fresh food grown by their neighbors.
  • Abdul will fight for federal incentives to invest in biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuels, to give Michigan family farmers more domestic markets for their products in the face of Donald Trump’s trade wars that have eliminated export markets.

Protect Michigan Farms from PFAS and Safeguard Our Water

  • Michigan farmers shouldn’t pay the price for environmental contamination they didn’t cause. Abdul will fight for federal funding to test affected farms, compensate farmers for lost income, and hold polluters responsible.
  • He will expand conservation programs that help farmers protect the Great Lakes, reduce runoff, and build resilience to extreme weather.

Create Opportunities For Young Farmers To Get Started

  • For every farmer under 35, there are four who are 65 or older. Abdul will pass the bipartisan Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities Act to permanently fund help with down payments, succession planning, and clear land titles for beginning farmers.
  • He will invest in agricultural education, from high school career programs to community colleges and MSU Extension.
  • He will expand low-interest USDA loans and down payment assistance for new farmers, and fight to keep large corporate and investor buyers from outbidding families for farmland.