It's a shock' American farmers call for bailout

Farmers across the US say they could face financial ruin unless there is a huge taxpayer-funded bailout to compensate for losses generated by Donald Trump's sweeping cuts and chaotic tariffs.

- Nina Lakhani

Small- and medium-sized farms were already struggling amid worsening climate shocks and volatile commodities markets, on top of being squeezed by large corporations that dominate the supply chain.

In recent weeks, farmers in Texas and across the Midwest have suffered millions of dollars of crop losses due to unprecedented flooding.

The climate crisis-fuelled extreme weather is being compounded by the president's looming trade war and the administration targeting popular federal programmes and staff, leaving farmers reeling and resigned to needing another bailout.

"There's a lot of uncertainty around and I hate to be used as a bargaining chip. I am definitely worried," said Travis Johnson, who lost more than 1,000 acres of cotton, sorghum and corn after a year's rain fell within 48 hours in the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas last month, turning parched fields into lakes.