Tennessee farmers are sounding the alarm as they face imminent financial ruin, pointing to skyrocketing production expenses, unsatisfactory crop prices, and unpredictable international trade conditions.

This week, State Representative Rusty Grills (R-Newbern) penned a letter to President Donald Trump and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, urgently asking for emergency assistance. He described the scenario as “a crisis not seen in decades,” warning that family-owned farms across Tennessee could disappear without federal support.

Lee Maddox, director of communications for the Tennessee Farm Bureau, echoed that warning.

“It really is tough right now,” he said. “It is on the verge of crisis.”

Maddox reported that Tennessee’s agricultural sector has already sustained losses of $430 million this year alone and nearly $730 million over the past two years. He highlighted declining prices of essential row crops such as corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat as a significant contributor to the problem.

“We are seeing prices like we did 40 or 50 years ago,” Maddox said. “There’s no business that can sustain that kind of hit.”

Experts say this issue extends beyond Tennessee. Rising inflation and severe weather conditions are impacting farmers across the country. Additionally, trade tensions with China, a major buyer of Tennessee soybeans, have exacerbated the unpredictability.

“Farmers would prefer a more consistent trading environment and a stable global market to the current uncertainty, which increases the reliance on bailouts,” stated Dr. Andrew Muhammad, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Muhammad added that while tariffs might eventually result in improved trade agreements, the reality is that not all farms can endure long enough to benefit from these potential future gains.

“It could be the case we could be better off in the long run,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean certain sectors wouldn’t collapse or be negatively harmed.”

For farm groups, the focus remains on day-to-day survival, not political talking points.

“Sometimes I do wonder,” Dr. Muhammad added. “Are we in a new normal versus whether this can simply be reversed moving forward?”

The White House has said a new farmers’ aid package is under discussion. Trump has suggested using tariff revenue to offset losses. For much of Tennessee’s farm country, the question now is whether that help will come in time for this year’s harvest.