In 30 years of working in agricultural law, I have never told my clients, my students, or even my friends how to vote. When I represented farmers in financial distress, their politics didn’t matter.

But this year, I feel compelled to warn rural America the same way I’ve warned my clients not to sign a bad contract or mortgage their household. This year is different. A Donald Trump presidency would devastate rural America.

• Trump’s plan for massive tariffs will invoke a trade war that destroys US agricultural export markets. We saw this during Trump’s first presidency, and the tariffs he has planned are much more draconian than what he has done before. There will be no way for the government to save all the affected industries. The collapse of our commodity export market will cause farm prices (and incomes) to collapse. And contrary to Trump’s statements, the tariffs are not paid by other countries – they are aabsorbed by US production and/or passed on to US consumers.

• While everyone agrees that our immigration system needs fixing, Trump’s pledge to round up and deport all undocumented immigrants will devastate our food system. Almost half of agricultural workers they are undocumented workers. We depend on them to pick our fruits and vegetables, milk our cows and then process our meat and poultry. Without these workers, food prices will skyrocket and agricultural businesses will fail.

• Economic experts recognize that the tax cuts proposed by Trump for the rich, combined with widespread tariffs, will increase the deficit, raise interest rates and fuel massive inflation. Farmers, who will have to rely on loans to cover their reduced income from low crop prices, will pay higher interest rates and provide more security. As in the 1980s, a farm financial crisis can be anticipated.

• There is no industry more affected by climate change than agriculture. Drought, floods, erratic temperatures, pest growth can devastate even the best farming operation. Farmers know the threat is real. When Trump refers to climate change as a hoax and threatens to roll back efforts to combat it, he risks what our farmers need to survive – a stable and predictable weather cycle. The Biden-Harris administration has provided billions to farmers and rural communities to help them build resilience and help solve our climate problems. All of this support will be on the hook in a Trump administration.

• Antitrust and competition issues permeate our food system with many of our industries concentration rates that far exceed the concentration experienced in Teddy Roosevelt’s “trust” days. The Biden-Harris administration is the first administration to have the courage to take on a large industry, demand fair contracts, and support small businesses in meat processing. All of that disappears in a Trump administration.

• Finally, the farmers and rural residents I grew up with, represented and taught are good people. They respect individual freedoms, help their neighbors and demand honesty and integrity. Donald Trump represents the opposite of these core values.

My appeal to the rural America I love: Don’t be fooled by rhetoric, lies and hate. Think realistically about what a Trump presidency will do, not just to our nation, but to your community. Vote Harris-Walz.

Susan Schneider grew up on a family farm in Minnesota, and throughout her more than 30-year career as an attorney and law professor, she has worked on behalf of farmers across the country. She is the author of a popular agricultural law textbook, Food, Farming and Sustainability. For the past two decades, she has been a full professor of law and directed the LL.M. Program in Agricultural and Food Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law. Her views are her own and do not represent the University of Arkansas, law school or LL.M. Program.

This article originally appeared on the Des Moines Register: Opinion: Rural America should be alarmed if Trump wins