Ohio farmers are getting crushed by our politicians’ failure to fight for us

I’m Joe Stimmell. I am a lifelong resident of Ashland County and farmer of more than 20 years, where I raise 25 head of beef cattle and farm about 700 acres of corn, soybeans, and small grains with my brother and uncle.

I am unaffiliated with any party or candidate. I’ve been through tough times, like the Great Recession and the pandemic, but the reality facing Ohio farmers right now is unsustainable and unlike anything I’ve experienced.

Right now, working people across our state are working harder than ever but feel like we are slipping further behind. Yet if you listen to politicians like Ohio U.S. Sen. Jon Husted and our local Congressman, Max Miller, you’d think the economy is booming. They live in a completely different reality than the rest of us.

Just look around. Thanks to the Iran war our leaders keep voting to prolong, gas prices in Ohio have climbed to about $4.50 a gallon, and diesel recently set a record high of $6.81.

It is nearly a daily conversation now about what fuel is doing, and whether or not we should top the tanks off or let it ride. Husted has voted 14 times to support the war in Iran.

Miller has voted for it 7 times, including for a budget framework that would give President Trump $73 billion for the war.

Every single time they cast those votes, they rubber-stamp a war of choice that’s driving up our bills and making it harder for businesses to operate. That they refuse to change course tells me they either have no clue what we are going through or they simply do not care. 

I saw it firsthand this spring. My brother and I were on our way to meet with the local co-op about fertilizer prices when the war with Iran broke out. By the time we got there, everything was in total disarray.

Prices for essentials like urea went bonkers, getting dangerously close to $850 a ton on the farm. It’s nearly impossible to plan for the future when our leaders’ actions completely upend the market. You’re just hoping you can survive until things settle down.

On top of foreign policy, our elected officials offer no pushback against the administration’s constant meddling in our markets.

In the livestock industry, we’ve seen the president’s beef imports take a direct toll on our livelihoods. Since September, live cattle are down roughly 20 cents, or $300 a head.

Since June, fat cattle have dropped 40 to 50 cents, wiping out nearly 20% of their total value.

While cattle farming remains profitable for now, these drastic reductions in live cattle prices haven’t led to lower prices for consumers at the grocery store. All it does is make our country more dependent on foreign beef in the long run.

But it’s not just farming and the fallout of the Iran war.

When you look at the impact of the tariffs, influx of data centers, and healthcare cuts, everything from utility bills to groceries to basic household goods is going up.

I make significantly more than I did when I started, but I feel no more secure because the cost of living has skyrocketed.

Things have gotten so tough that I know multiple people who are having to finance paying for groceries. That’s hardly indicative of a booming economy.

Husted and Miller are worth millions. Their quality of life is not truly affected by the votes they cast in Washington. But for farmers like myself who have seen input costs skyrocket and cattle values drop, we feel the stress and understand the constant series of tradeoff decisions Ohioans find themselves making.

Do we spend more on fertilizer to plant corn, or switch to soybeans to save on inputs? Do we buy less meat at the store to save on groceries?

We need leaders who understand the impact their decisions have on the lives of the people they represent — not rubber-stamp politicians who are too scared to stand up for us while Ohio families pay the price.