By Mónica Cordero
After a year defined by tariff-driven trade tensions, farmers’ confidence in tariffs as a tool to strengthen the farm economy appears to be slipping, according to the latest Ag Economy Barometer released in early January.
In December, 54% of the 400 producers surveyed by Purdue University and the CME Group, which operates major agricultural and financial markets, said they expected tariffs to strengthen the agricultural economy, a decline of about 4 to 5 percentage points from October and November.
Under its “America First Trade Policy,” the Trump administration has pursued a trade fight with major partners, escalating tensions with China, the world’s largest soybean buyer. The conflict has included threats of tariffs as high as 157%, putting U.S. agriculture in the crosshairs of retaliation between the two powers.
For many producers, the bigger worry is Brazil’s growing advantage in soybean trade with China, a shift that accelerated during Trump’s first term and has continued to reshape global grain flows. In December, 84% of corn and soybean producers said they were concerned or very concerned about the competitiveness of U.S. soybean exports compared with Brazil’s.
Soybeans remain a cornerstone of American agriculture, particularly in the Midwest. More than 270,000 farms nationwide grow the crop, according to the latest Census of Agriculture. In Illinois, nearly half of all farms rely on soybean production. In Iowa and Minnesota, about 4 in 10 do.
Click here to see more...