Rural America Talks About The Impact Of Tariffs

President Trump’s tariffs on America’s biggest trading partners continue to raise alarms in farm country.  Agriculture is already in a recession, stoked by low commodity prices, chronically high input costs, no Farm Bill, and now tariff retaliation by America’s top three trading partners.  Sedrick Rowe Jr., an organic farmer in Albany, Georgia testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“It’s challenging with tariffs being raised…prices go up for growers and access to land is very critical to stay surviving with rising tariffs," Rowe told lawmakers.  "In order for a farmer to survive, they have to plant more acres. And that can be a challenge, itself.”

Riceland Foods CEO Ben Noble told lawmakers farmers and rural America itself must have a strong Farm Bill safety net to survive.

“When you think about how many times that dollar turns over in a rural community, whether it’s the grocery store, rural health facilities, machinery repair, countless of other small businesses, rural America ultimately depends on the farmer as the backbone, and really, the ‘heart’ of their entire community.”

But the tariff issue isn’t going away, even as farmers and rural businesses swoon over the newest hurdle to their survival.  President Trump has also imposed universal steel and aluminum tariffs, further pressuring farm machinery prices, and vows across the board global reciprocal tariffs starting April 2nd.

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