"There's a lot of pissed-off farmers right now at Trump and Marshall," said Kansas farmer Jeff Preisser, "because you see the situation we're in."
asserted
we → be → situation
In the final stretch of Kansas' unexpectedly competitive Senate race between Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton, the Preisser family laid out their situation for CBS News, handing over a piece of paper detailing their heightened expenses.
asserted
family → lay → expenses
It cost them $737,375 more to operate their farm in 2026 than last year.
asserted
It → cost → year
That included $514,625 more for fertilizer and $187,000 more for diesel, costs that have jumped during the Iran war, and $10,000 more for parts, which they linked to steel tariffs.
asserted
they → include → tariffs
Meanwhile, drought has decreased their crop yields by 20%, commodity prices are low and trade wars have shrunk agriculture exports, causing them to bring in $325,000 less in revenue from 2025 to 2026.
asserted
them → decrease → 2026
Kansas lost 700 farms from 2024 to 2025.
asserted
Kansas → lose → 2025
Across the Midwest, farm bankruptcies increased 70% over the same period.
asserted
bankruptcies → increase → period
There's no more money," said Jeff Preisser.
asserted
Preisser → be → ?
He said he isn't sure if his 6,500-acre corn, cotton, soybean and wheat farm in Sylvia, Kansas, will survive through next year.
asserted
farm → say → year
The dire situation is leading his father, Larry Preisser, who started the farm, to vote for a Democrat for the first time.
asserted
who → lead → time
For the Senate, he plans to cast his vote for Hamilton, a pastor who is aiming to be the first Democrat to represent Kansas in the Senate since the 1930s, rather than Marshall.
asserted
who → plan → Marshall
The father told CBS News he is disillusioned with Republican leadership.
asserted
he → tell → leadership
He said he was promised that once Republicans gained power under President Trump, Marshall would fight to pass the Farm Bill — a massive piece of legislation that supports crop insurance, prices and rural development.
asserted
that → say → insurance
Congress hasn't passed a new bill since 2018, and
, it officially expired.
asserted
it → pass → 2018
"Two years [later], we got no farm bill, nothing," he said.
asserted
he → get → bill
His son, Jeff Preisser, wasn't sure if he would vote at all.
asserted
he → vote → ?
If he does, he said it wouldn't be for the Republican.
asserted
it → do → Republican
"We need someone who's not Roger Marshall," he said.
asserted
he → need → someone
Jeff Preisser's sister, Mandi Sieren, said she doesn't "trust anybody at this point enough to vote for them.
asserted
she → say → them
I don't care if they're Democrat, Republican …
asserted
they → care → ?
I don't even want to vote for anybody."
But Tracy Chambers, who also owns farmland in the area, emphatically told them: "Your vote is your voice."
asserted
vote → want → them
She and Larry Preisser said they were drawn to Hamilton after seeing him speak at the Kansas State Fair because he seemed like a moderate Democrat who could bring the parties together.
uncertain
who → say → parties
"He wants to work with the Republicans, too," said Larry Preisser.
asserted
Preisser → want → Republicans
"He don't want to fight.
asserted
He → want → ?
He wants to work with them, and that's what we need.
asserted
we → want → what
When I was a kid, they didn't argue like that years ago."
asserted
they → argue → that
Chambers added: "In fact, he used to be a Republican. …
asserted
he → add → fact
So I think he's not a flaming liberal, and he's somebody who would be good for Kansas."
asserted
who → think → Kansas
An hour's drive away, soybean farmer Mick Roush echoed the Preisser family's concerns for his own farm.
asserted
Roush → echo → farm
He said he won't be able to hold on to it much longer if conditions don't change.
asserted
conditions → say → it
But unlike the Preissers, Roush is sticking with Marshall because he thinks Hamilton is "too liberal."
asserted
Hamilton → stick → Marshall
The pressure has split farmers.
asserted
pressure → split → farmers
The Preissers argued Marshall hadn't stuck up for farmers against political decisions at odds with the industry, from the Iran war, to tariffs, to recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in southwest Kansas that left ranchers short-staffed during harvest season.
asserted
that → argue → season
But many, like Roush, are sticking with Marshall because "he's from farm country."
asserted
he → stick → country
They feel the strain of the Iran war but see it as temporary, and in many cases, say it is justified to keep Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
asserted
it → feel → weapon
Some are voting for Marshall because they don't want Republicans to lose the Senate, for fear that farmers will fare worse under a Democratic Congress.
asserted
farmers → vote → Congress
An April survey sponsored by Farm Journal found that more farmers and ranchers trust Republicans to handle issues that are key to the industry than Democrats.
asserted
that → sponsor → Democrats
But it also found that 73% believe their elected officials understand the realities they face "not very well" or "not at all."
asserted
they → find → realities
On every economic issue tested, at least one in five said they didn't trust either party to deliver for them.
asserted
they → test → them
Mr. Trump has announced a series of policies aimed at easing diesel prices.
asserted
Trump → announce → prices
…and 35 more, not listed.
The Aporia
