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Politics · Middle East

Farmers’ rising costs put pressure on Roger Marshall’s close Kansas race

Stephen Kalb said President Donald Trump’s tariffs, trade wars and attack on Iran raised his farm costs and reduced export markets for his crops. Republican-leaning farmers could help decide Senator Roger Marshall’s close race against Democrat Adam Hamilton.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 4 independent reports from 5 outlets · Article text read from 1 of 4 reportsHow it's made

View timeline · 8 entries
5 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 2 · R 0 · 3 unrated
Updat3 graphic: North America
Updat3 graphic · Map data: Natural Earth Natural Earth (public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Senator Roger Marshall is in a close Kansas Senate race against Democrat Adam Hamilton (per knau.org).
  • Farmers who generally vote Republican could help decide or flip the Kansas Senate seat (per knau.org, NPR).
  • Kalb said he considers Marshall too beholden to Trump (per knau.org).

The brief

Rising costs and shrinking export markets are putting economic pressure on Kansas farmer Stephen Kalb, while Republican-leaning farmers could help decide a close U.S. Senate race. Kalb farms corn and soybeans near Wellsville.

KNAU, reporting for NPR, says he attributes higher farm expenses to President Donald Trump’s tariffs and attack on Iran, and says trade wars have reduced markets for his crops and squeezed his income. The account identifies several cost pressures. Kalb said tariffs raised prices for farm equipment and some chemicals.

It also says Trump’s attack on Iran increased fertilizer and diesel prices. The account does not provide dollar figures for those increases, but describes their effect on Kalb’s expenses. Kalb was repairing a broken combine rather than harvesting when the account followed his farm work.

He said he would first try a longer pry bar to remove a worn part, then use a pipe for more leverage. The repair offers a glimpse of the equipment demands facing his operation, while the account’s stated political focus is how farmers’ economic concerns may bear on the Senate contest.

Republican Senator Roger Marshall is facing Democrat Adam Hamilton in what the account calls a surprisingly close Kansas race. It says farmers who generally vote Republican could help determine the result. NPR’s headline similarly says disgruntled farmers may help flip the seat; that headline does not offer further detail about the farmers’ views or the race.

Kalb said he believes Marshall is too beholden to Trump. The account also says Kalb worries that global economic conditions could change overnight and that government checks and balances might not be functioning. Those are Kalb’s concerns, rather than independently established findings in the account.

The account notes that some farmers appreciate much of Marshall’s record, while also describing Kalb’s criticism of the senator. That contrast places farmers’ economic pressures alongside differing assessments of Marshall as the race draws close. The account does not give polling figures or specify how many farmers share either view.

Why it matters

  • Kalb’s farm operation faces higher equipment and chemical costs, as well as increased fertilizer and diesel prices, according to the account.
  • The account says trade wars reduced export markets for Kalb’s corn and soybeans and squeezed his income.
  • Republican-leaning farmers could help decide the close contest between Roger Marshall and Adam Hamilton.
  • Kalb’s criticism of Marshall coexists with the account’s statement that some farmers appreciate much of the senator’s record.

What to watch next

  • Whether Republican-leaning farmers affect the outcome of Roger Marshall’s race against Adam Hamilton.
  • Whether Kalb’s stated concerns about farm costs and export markets feature in the Kansas Senate contest.
  • How farmers’ differing assessments of Marshall’s record figure in the close race.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets · 4 distinct reports
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center · 3 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Unknown 60% · US/Canada 40%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 3 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The Commodity Credit Corporation was established to support agricultural markets and farm incomes.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Congress enacted the Federal Crop Insurance Act, creating a federal crop-insurance program.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. In 2018, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, and China retaliated with tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports, including soybeans.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. The Agriculture Improvement Act, signed on December 20, 2018, renewed major farm programs, including commodity support and crop insurance.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. Roger Marshall won Kansas’s U.S. Senate seat, defeating Democrat Barbara Bollier.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. Donald Trump won the presidency, and Republicans gained control of the Senate.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from U.S. trading partners.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. The United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes across Iran.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Roger Marshall won Kansas’s U.S. Senate seat on November 3, 2020, defeating Democrat Barbara Bollier; he took office on January 3, 2021. Before entering the Senate, Marshall represented Kansas’s 1st Congressional District from 2017 to 2021, a region that includes many agricultural communities.

His 2020 victory came as Kansas voters also considered the state’s long-running Republican hold on statewide offices: Republican Pat Roberts had held the Senate seat since 1997 and did not seek reelection in 2020. In 2018, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, and China retaliated with tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports, including soybeans. The U.S.

Original sources

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