Farmers in southern Manitoba anxious, bracing for U.S. tariffs

Manitoba is one of Canada's biggest hog producers with millions being annually shipped to, and processed in, the U.S. So the threat of 25-per-cent tariffs being levied on Canadian goods, including the agriculture sector, is worrisome for farmers in southern Manitoba.

"We obviously don't want it. Nobody really wants this or needs it," said John Nickel, who has nearly 6,000 sows — and piglets being born daily — at his two hog farms near Lowe Farm and Tolstoi.

The hogs are sold to a farm in Minnesota, with Nickel sending a truck load there every week.

He's not sure what the full extent of tariffs would do to his production but says it would be challenging to find an alternative market to sell the livestock.

Nickel said he could possibly hold off exports for one to three weeks, but sooner or later the pigs would have to move to the next phase of production.

"It would be really difficult for Canada to absorb just the production from our farm — never mind that we are far from the only farm [doing this]," Nickel said.

Canada's total exports to the U.S. from all industries in 2023 exceeded $594 billion. Tariffs of 25 per cent applied across the board would increase the cost of those exports by $148.5 billion, according to Statistics Canada.

Nickel doesn't want to think about what could happen if U.S. President Donald Trump goes ahead and imposes the tariffs, or what would happen if his American customers couldn't afford to buy from him anymore.

"We would we would have to cut back our production or worst case scenario, shut down the farm," Nickel said.