Ben Palen " a Kansas native and a fifth-generation farmer and agriculture consultant " blasted President Donald Trump's repeat tactic of putting farmers in distress and then dangling tax-funded salvation before them and hungry developers. "[T]he Trump administration will provide several billion dollars in bailouts to farmers, with an emphasis on corn and soybean growers," Palen wrote in the Kansas Reflector. "... Predictably, political dances followed the announcement, with various farm groups issuing statements supporting release of this money." "It's pathetic," Palen wrote. "It's especially so when the Republican sycophants who represent Kansas farmers fall all over themselves to pay homage to Trump. How about some honest conversations about what this regime has done to American farmers via a patchwork of actions that show little understanding of international trade and so many other issues?"