By Trevor Hunnicutt, P.J. Huffstutter and Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump announced new measures on Friday to support U.S. farmers who are reeling from the administration's trade policies and the Iran war and suggested farm equipment makers cut prices - a call that sent their shares lower.
"I want John Deere and Case and all of - they're great companies, Caterpillar... I want these companies to give it to you in the form of lower tractor and equipment costs," Trump
told hundreds of farmers and ranchers gathered under drizzle at an event on the South Lawn of the White House.
Deere & Co shares dropped 2% after the statement. Case IH manufacturer CNH Industrial NV fell 1% while Caterpillar Inc was down nearly 1.2% in late-session trading.
The three companies could not immediately be reached for comment.
Trump called for lower prices in an aside during a speech that otherwise focused on shoring up support among the Republican president's loyal constituency of rural voters, who have backed Trump in all three of the last presidential races.
For the fourth straight year, U.S. crop producers are facing tight margins, high production costs and low commodity prices - and are struggling financially - despite near-record government payments.
The Trump administration is distributing $12 billion in aid to U.S. farmers - a move that farm trade groups and agricultural economists have said is helpful in the short-term but will not fully compensate farmers for financial losses that have topped $30 billion in recent years.
On Friday, Trump said he would seek even more such aid for farmers from Congress. More than 50 farm-interest groups, such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, are urging Congress to approve additional aid in a military funding package.
The event happened as the administration finalized new biofuel blending mandates for U.S. oil refiners, requiring them to mix more of the fuels made from corn and other agricultural products into the nation's gasoline and diesel than initially proposed, in an apparent win for farmers.
Trump also said the U.S. Small Business Administration would open up new loan guarantees for farmers and food suppliers.
Farmers are entering the critical spring planting season under a cloud of uncertainty as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupts global trade, causing fertilizer and diesel costs to spike.
The long-term U.S. trade relationship with China also remains unclear amid the ongoing trade war launched by Trump's administration with the country, the world's top soy importer.
Rural voters constitute a fifth of the U.S. electorate, and they favored Trump by a two-to-one margin over Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Gram Slattery, P.J. Huffstutter; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya, editing by Michelle Nichols and David Ljunggren)
