By Reyna Drake
North Carolina farmers are preparing to plant soybean crops in the coming weeks, but tariffs and global conflicts are making it harder for them to turn a profit.
Soybeans are the state’s largest crop per acreage, and the industry is in its third year of depressed commodity prices, according to Charles Hall, the executive director of the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association.
"It's a really stressful time,” Hall said. “(Farmers) have to make that decision of, what do I plant? How much nutrient do I put on it? How much crop protection product do I put on it? Can I afford to buy a new tractor this year?”
Hall said this is because of a cost-price squeeze — in which the cost of production increases, while the sell price stays the same.
He said some production costs have risen with military action in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is a major supplier of nitrate and phosphate fertilizer compounds, and disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are making fertilizer become more expensive.
“Farmers are just about to start planting crops, probably within the next two weeks,” Hall said. “And this is a really inopportune time for that particular input cost to spike.”
Additionally, Hall said tariffs play a role in financial strain. Tariffs from the Trump Administration disrupted trade relations with China, which used to be one of the largest buyers of soybeans from the U.S.
China now only buys about 50% of what they normally would have bought, according to Hall.
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