In many ways, Commodity Classic in Denver was a microcosm of the state of agriculture and the nation as a whole. A capacity crowd enthusiastically cheered Brooke Rollins and her Donald Trump-approved vision for agriculture. She received multiple standing ovations as she vowed to reverse the growing ag trade deficit, bring USDA workers back into the office and advocate for a desperately needed farm bill.
But underneath the optimism and enthusiasm lurked an undercurrent of uncertainty, a fear that the worst days for farmers may be yet to come. As with most public discourse these days, the presence of Trump loomed as nearly every policy-related conversation ended with a caveat, “depending on what the government does.”
During the three-day session, tariffs took center stage as Trump’s long-promised tariffs became a reality. That led to immediate repercussions as Canada, China and Mexico announced plans to retaliate with tariffs of their own, prompting concerns about the farm economy.
National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman issued a public statement during the conference’s last day noting farmers are facing a troubling economic landscape due to rising input costs and declining corn prices.
“We ask President Trump to quickly negotiate agreements with Mexico, Canada and China that will benefit American farmers while addressing issues important to the United States,” he said. “We call on our trading partners to work with the president to resolve these issues so that we can restore vital market access.”
During the session, Trump also announced on his social media platform that he planned to impose tariffs of a yet-to-be-determined rate on agriculture imports beginning April 2.
“The great farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agriculture product to be sold INSIDE the United States,” Trump said on Monday. The president ended the post with the words “Have fun!”
In a statement issued the following day, American Soybean Association President Caleb Ragland said tariffs are not something to be taken lightly and “have fun with.” According to him, farmers are frustrated. He noted that commodity prices are down 50% from three years ago. This, coupled with higher land costs, input costs, and other products, leave farmers with much smaller savings to draw from when they face economic hardship. He notes that U.S. agriculture lost $27 billion in 2018, the last time Trump imposed tariffs on China. Ragland points out that 71% of those losses were incurred by soybean farmers, who depend on China as their largest trading partner.
“Not only do they (tariffs) hit our family businesses squarely in the wallet, but they rock a core tenet on which our trading relationships are built, and that is reliability,” Ragland says.
(Note: Early Wednesday afternoon, Trump announced he would pause tariffs for a month on auto imports from Canada and Mexico. No word yet if he plans to suspend tariffs on other products.)
Still, the news was not all bad on the farm front. During the Commodity Classic closing session, American Sorghum Producers chairwoman Amy France said she was excited about recent research extolling the health benefits of sorghum. National Association of Wheat Growers President Keef Felty touted a recent court victory on California Proposition 65 that required more stringent labeling products for certain chemicals. Hartman noted corn producers are encouraged by the growing momentum toward year-round E15 sales.
Ragland perhaps summed it up best when discussing how farmers and their advocates can use the current political climate to ultimately help farmers.
“From crisis comes opportunity,” he said. “We’re in a tough spot with our farm economy right now, but the opportunity that we have is an opportunity for all of our commodity organizations to work together.”