Severe financial crisis in the US: Kansas farmers divided by the election

The Preisser farming family from Sylvia, Kansas, operating 6,500 acres of land (root crops, cotton, soybeans, and wheat), faced operating expenses in 2026 that rose by $737,375 compared to the previous year. Specifically, fertilizer costs increased by $514,625, diesel fuel by $187,000 due to the situation in Iran, and parts expenses grew by $10,000 amid steel tariffs. At the same time, due to drought, the yield decreased by 20%, while low commodity prices and trade wars curtailed exports, reducing revenue by $325,000 between 2025 and 2026.

The current situation has led to a region-wide crisis: from 2024 to 2025, Kansas lost 700 farms, and farm bankruptcies in the Midwest grew by 70%. Nationally, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, bankruptcies rose by 46% in 2025, and the USDA forecasts a record increase in agricultural debt to $624.7 billion in 2026.

Financial difficulties have divided the farming community ahead of the Senate election between incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton. Family farm founder Larry Preisser, disillusioned with Republican leadership and Congress's failure to pass a new Farm Bill (the previous one expired last month), intends to vote for a Democrat for the first time. To pay the bills, he had to sell land that had belonged to the family for 140 years. His son Jeff Preisser doubts whether the farm can survive next year and is unsure if he will vote at all. Other agricultural producers, such as soybean farmer Mick Rauh, by contrast, support Senator Marshall, considering the opponent too liberal.

President Trump announced an $8 billion program for temporary fuel relief for farmers amid rising diesel prices. However, the Preisser family called this measure a temporary band-aid that does not solve the fundamental problems with fertilizer and crop prices.