Farmers across the country are looking at record yields during their fall harvest. They may have nowhere to sell them.
As a result of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, crop farmers have lost a significant export market, driving down the price of top U.S. crops like soybeans and corn, even as Trump’s tariffs drive up the cost of farm equipment and fertilizer.
Now, as they approach the end of growing season, those farmers, farm groups and Republican lawmakers from agriculture-heavy states are warning of a looming crisis: crops piling up with nowhere to put them and farmers ending the year deep in the red.
They’re still not ready to blame Trump and his trade policies, however, a sign of just how much grace the agriculture community continues to grant Trump, even as his ambitious efforts to restructure the global trade economy clash directly with their economic interests. This fall could prove the stiffest loyalty test yet, as the administration struggles to make progress in trade negotiations it’s promised will finally bring the ag industry some relief.
