Trump Administration Silences Women Farmers While Claiming to Support Agriculture

In a stunning display of hypocrisy, the Trump administration has blocked women farmers from serving on the United Soybean Board, a key industry group that oversees how mandatory farmer fees are spent to support the nation’s soybean growers. These women were nominated by their peers and some had already been appointed to leadership roles managing a $121 million budget. Yet the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rejected all four women candidates without explanation.

This move comes amid the administration’s broader crusade to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts across the federal government. The USDA’s rejection of these women farmers is part of a disturbing pattern: rolling back equal pay initiatives, gutting programs aimed at correcting historic inequities, and promoting a narrow, exclusionary vision of “merit” that conveniently aligns with political loyalty rather than expertise.

Susan Watkins, a Virginia soybean farmer and former board member, was stunned by her dismissal. A conservative who supported Trump, Watkins had been set to become treasurer overseeing the board’s 2026 budget before she was abruptly cut out. She searched for reasons, wondering if a photo with Glenn Youngkin, a Trump ally who fell out of favor, had sealed her fate. “We should be judged on our merit,” Watkins said. “It’s very disheartening.”

This incident is not just about gender discrimination. It highlights how the Trump administration’s policies and political vendettas are weakening institutions meant to support farmers—especially at a time when tariffs and trade wars have already devastated key agricultural sectors like Iowa’s soybean producers. At the 2018 Iowa State Fair, GOP candidates for agriculture secretary avoided discussing tariffs that were hammering farmers, instead focusing on culture war issues irrelevant to the economic realities these communities face.

The USDA and White House have refused to provide transparency on why these qualified women were rejected, citing backlogs and declining to comment. This opacity only deepens suspicion that the administration’s priorities lie in political control and ideological purity rather than serving the agricultural community.

The Trump administration’s actions betray its claims of helping farmers. Instead, it is sidelining experienced voices, undermining equity, and ignoring the real struggles of rural America. This is governance by grievance and exclusion, not by accountability or support.

We deserve better than this.