The Documentation Project presented an informational meeting on the effects of Trump administration funding cuts Tuesday at Heartland Community College.
The event was sponsored by the McLean County League of Women Voters, a non-partisan political group. Michael Doherty, an agriculture consultant, spoke about the impacts that Trump’s tariff policies are having on Central Illinois farmers. He said farmers have seen three consecutive years of negative returns on cash-rented acreage, which included the final two years under the Biden administration.
Doherty said the return from harvesting farmland is not keeping up with the cost to rent land and purchase equipment. He added though that farm net income improved slightly in 2025 from the previous two years.
Doherty noted the Trump administration's Farmer Bridge Assistance Program has entirely compensated for the financial losses farmers incurred during the trade war.
The Documentation Project is a new citizens group working to document the totality of cuts to various funding sources for McLean County programs — and the impact on people served by those programs — during President Trump's second term.
In his presentation on Tuesday, Doherty also noted Trump’s policies are straining relations with China, the nation’s biggest market for soybeans, which reduced the prices farmers received for soybeans.
He said China has begun looking to Brazil and Argentina for soybeans in the aftermath of the 2018 trade war during Trump's first term.
“Even though those sales came back [when the trade war ended], what happened was there was a lot of growth in that market, and we did not get that growth,” said Doherty, who previously was senior economist at the Illinois Farm Bureau. “Instead, that growth went to Brazil.”
For six months in 2025, as a result of retaliatory trade measures, U.S. soybean exports to China were nearly zero. A November deal between the two countries allowed trade to resume.
“The question is, will China continue to buy soybeans for the remainder of this crop here? I would say most market analysts are doubtful about that, partly because our competitors Brazil are already harvesting soybeans,” said Doherty. Because Brazil is in the Southern Hemisphere, that nation is currently experiencing summer.
Doherty said while bridge payments have helped them recover, it's unclear how the administration's actions may impact future profits for farmers. He said it's possible international investors will boost their investment in Brazil's soybean industry. In that case, Doherty said any negative impacts will likely be seen longer term.
Also discussed during the meeting was the loss of grant funding for the Community Schools program at Cedar Ridge and Fairview elementary schools.
Gabe Spalding, a physics professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, was scheduled to present on the termination of various science grants and the impact the moves have on educational institutions, but was unable to attend.
The event was the second in a series of informational sessions planned by The Documentation Project.
