‘Everything, everywhere, all at once’: Tariffs, costs and disease squeeze Iowa farms

Senate Republicans from farm states and soybean growers are sounding the alarm over President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which they say are deepening economic pain in rural America.

The U.S. agricultural trade deficit ballooned to a record $28.6 billion in the first half 2025, driven in large part by collapsing soybean exports to China and higher input costs on farms. Producers say tariffs are raising prices on critical supplies like steel for machinery, while foreign buyers shift to competitors in Brazil and elsewhere.

Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley blasted the tariffs as “a stupid policy,” warning they are fueling farm stress not seen since the 1980s. Farmers facing shrinking markets and higher costs say the policies are unsustainable and threaten to hollow out the ag economy.

On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats are preparing to force two votes in the coming weeks to overturn Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Brazil, escalating pressure on Republicans who have voiced unease with the policies — and underscoring growing rifts within the GOP, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

House Republicans narrowly voted Tuesday to again cede congressional power over tariffs to Trump, adopting a measure that blocks challenges to his global tariff declarations through March 2026.

Iowa’s four U.S. House members — all Republicans — voted in favor of the measure.

Speaker Mike Johnson defended the decision, saying Trump has delivered “great trade agreements.”

The resolutions come as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office this month said that Trump’s tariff policy is one of several factors that are expected to increase jobless rates and inflation and lower overall growth this year, the AP reported.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and other Republicans from farm states have expressed concern about the tariffs’ impact on businesses that depend on Canadian trade. Still, Republicans have mostly deferred to Trump on his administration’s trade policy, arguing that the president needs time to work on deals with individual countries, the AP reported.

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Democrats, though, hope growing economic fallout will convince more Republicans to oppose the tariffs in upcoming votes.

Iowa farmers squeezed as prices fall, input costs rise

As tariffs and shifting trade policy reshape global markets, Iowa soybean farmers say the pain is showing up everywhere on the farm — in sharply higher input costs, thinner marketing options and growing worry that another sustained downturn could force some farmers out of the business.

“I tell everybody, it’s everything, everywhere, all at once,” said April Hemmes, who farms about 900 acres of corn and soybeans south of Hampton. “Our input — the cost to put this crop in the ground — is going up, and our prices are not. … We just have a lot going on all at once.”

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Hemmes, a 40-year farmer, pointed to a string of pressures: tariffs on imported fertilizers and parts, persistent inflation, disease in this year’s corn crop that forced her to harvest corn ahead of soybeans for the first time in decades, and the rising cost of drying and storing grain.

“My nitrogen cost went up 30 percent this year,” she said. “We don’t have very many fertilizer companies, so they’re kind of setting their own price, and that’s hurting our inputs.”

That squeeze — rising costs for seed, fertilizer, parts and equipment while commodity prices fail to keep pace with inflation — has left many farmers reluctant to market their crops. Hemmes said she normally would have 20 percent of a new crop sold by harvest. This year she has sold little.

“It makes it hard with these markets. It’s hard to sell a commodity when you know you’re going to lose money,” she said. “You put it in the bin and cross your fingers.”

John Gilbert, who farms roughly 800 acres in Hardin County near Iowa Falls and raises cattle and pigs in addition to corn and soybeans, described a similar calculus. He and other growers are weighing whether to plant soybeans at all when corn sometimes looks more likely to cover costs.

“One guy this morning said, ‘Why would I raise soybeans if I knew I was going to lose money? So he just planted corn,’” Gilbert said.

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The marketing disruption is uneven across the country. Hemmes noted that central Iowa’s strong processing capacity and renewable-fuel facilities near Cedar Rapids has helped some growers find domestic demand. But growers in the Dakotas and parts of the Upper Midwest, who rely on Pacific-Northwest export channels to ship beans to China and Southeast Asia, have struggled to even secure bids this harvest.

“They can’t even deliver them out of the field,” Hemmes said.

Some growers have tried to find niche buyers. Gilbert said his operation takes advantage of premiums for non-GMO beans that go into food products and specialty markets, but those premiums do not insulate farmers from national price swings.

Beyond the field, farmers worry about the ripple effects through rural finance and equipment supply. Hemmes warned that if younger farmers and those with heavy debt loads begin to exit, rural banks could face stress.

Gilbert said many parts, fasteners and active ingredients for crop chemicals come from overseas, and tariffs or supply-chain disruptions push costs higher. He and others say equipment purchases and upgrades have been delayed, and layoffs at major manufacturers like John Deere underscore the shrinking market for big ticket purchases.

When asked what policymakers should do, Hemmes demurred on specifics but said Congress should examine industry concentration and fertilizer pricing.

“Maybe things like that need to be studied and looked at,” she said.

Gilbert was more blunt: “Stop and think about all the ramifications. … I would like to see Congress grow a spine and take back their authority,” he said, urging lawmakers to rein in presidential tariff power and reset trade policy.

The two farmers said the toll is about more than dollars per bushel.

“What’s heartbreaking almost, is to see the young farmers struggling, who really want to go and make a go of it,” Hemmes said.

For many in rural Iowa, the worry is that today’s market disruptions and high costs will reverse the fragile gains of recent good years and set off another painful reshaping of the farm economy.

Grassley warns Trump’s tariff policies driving farm crisis

Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Trump’s shifting tariff policies are compounding financial stress for farmers and undercutting American manufacturers, even as the administration secures new trade agreements abroad.

In an interview on the talk show Agriculture of America with Jesse Allen, Grassley said farmers are seeing benefits from expanded market access — such as U.S. beef into the United Kingdom and Australia, and rice into China and South Korea for the first time. But he cautioned that Trump’s tariffs are creating uncertainty and raising costs for producers.

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“I think farmers are getting some benefits out of these negotiations, but the uncertainty of the tariff negotiations, like when the President raises tariffs one day and reduces them the next day, … that is a serious issue that affects agriculture, but more importantly, the John Deeres of the world as well,” Grassley said.

Grassley specifically criticized tariffs on critical inputs that cannot be sourced domestically.

“There shouldn’t be tariffs on things that you can’t get in the United States,” he said. “Why drive up the price of John Deeres because of a tariff on something they need for the tractor that they can’t even get in the United States? It’s a stupid policy.”

Grassley argued that companies like Mosaic, which controls 80 percent of the U.S. phosphate fertilizer market, do not need protection from foreign competition. He called for lifting tariffs on phosphate from Morocco and potash from Canada to reduce input costs.

The senator also warned that farm financial stress is deepening.

“We've got this farm crisis now, and this president should deal with this farm crisis right now,” Grassley said. “I'm hearing from bankers. I'm hearing from people that are that are getting pressed by their bankers to maybe sell part of their farm. … We haven't had this kind of stress in agriculture since the 1980s, and I don't want to have the suicides of farmers like we did in the 1980s.”

He praised the administration for supporting higher farm program reference prices in recent legislation rather than waiting for the next farm bill. Still, he stressed that trade stability is essential.

Grassley: Farmers face storage limits, shrinking markets amid trade disputes

Grassley last week said that continued support for farm aid and expanded market access remain critical as Iowa farmers struggle under the weight of tariffs and trade uncertainty.

Speaking on his weekly call with agricultural reporters, Grassley said farmers face limited storage and shrinking markets, particularly for soybeans, because of ongoing trade disputes with China.

With fewer exports, a larger portion of the U.S. crop must be stored, leaving farmers to sell at depressed domestic prices or wait in the hopes of a better trade deal.

“We’ve got to get a market for soybeans or some places aren’t going to have space for farmers to deliver,” Grassley said, pointing to stalled negotiations over U.S.-China trade.

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Grassley noted that expanded biofuels requirements, including higher biodiesel blending targets, have provided some relief. But he stressed that long-term stability depends on restoring exports to China.

“We still got to sell soybeans to China. That’s very, very important,” he said.

Grassley said support for farm aid is especially significant during this period of depressed commodity prices and uncertainty, describing the program as a lifeline for struggling producers.

The senator also tied the issue to his long-standing push to reclaim congressional authority over trade. During an April call with reporters, Grassley criticized decades-old laws that ceded tariff-setting powers to the president, noting that Article I of the Constitution explicitly gives Congress the authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce.

“I’m not introducing legislation because I’m irritated with Trump” over tariff actions, Grassley said. “I’m doing it because it gives me a chance to talk about the constitutional responsibility Congress has under Article I.”

Grassley said both Republican and Democratic administrations have used that delegated authority broadly, but Congress made a mistake in giving up its role.

“If reciprocity works to get all tariffs down, I’d have to say (Trump) would be more successful than my 50 years of being for negotiation for trade,” Grassley said. “… But Congress has the authority through free trade agreements, but it gives us a chance to get back to it. So Trump is trying to carry out his campaign promises. … Trump is, not only on tariffs but on everything else, is delivering on it. I just hope he's successful. If he is, I'm going to applaud him. If he isn't, I can say, ‘I told you so.’”

Ernst backs push to study fertilizer costs, touts Trump’s trade agenda

Fellow Republican Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing legislation aimed at bringing transparency to the U.S. fertilizer market, a step she says will help Iowa farmers manage one of their biggest input costs.

Ernst, alongside Sens. Grassley, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), unveiled the Fertilizer Research Act, which would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to study competition and long-term trends in the fertilizer industry and publish its findings within a year.

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“Fertilizer is an essential tool our farmers rely on to maintain healthy soil and improve crop yields,” Ernst said. “I’m working hard to drive down fertilizer costs and make life more affordable for both farmers and consumers.”

The proposal would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in consultation with the Economic Research Service, to issue a public report detailing factors that drive fertilizer pricing, including international trade, market concentration, antidumping and countervailing duties, and the role of imports. It also would examine emerging fertilizer technologies and assess whether current price reporting offers adequate transparency for farmers.

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Ernst said the research would provide “foundational knowledge” that producers need as they plan for harvest and the next planting season.

The bill’s introduction comes as fertilizer costs remain volatile, with global supply chains, energy prices and geopolitical conflicts driving fluctuations that ripple through farm budgets. For Midwest growers, fertilizer often represents the second-highest expense after land.

Ernst also tied the effort to her broader support for Trump’s trade agenda, arguing that new agreements are essential to keeping Iowa agriculture competitive.

“Trump is the ultimate dealmaker and he’s working hard to secure deals for our nation,” Ernst said in a statement to The Gazette. “After the disastrous trade deficits we saw under Biden, Trump is fighting for our Iowa farmers and producers.”

The measure is expected to be referred to the Senate Agriculture Committee for consideration.

U.S. farm trade deficit hits $28.6 billion in first half 2025, driven by plunging exports to China

According to USDA data reported by Bloomberg, the value of agricultural exports lagged imports by $4.1 billion in June alone — a gap 14 percent wider than a year earlier. That pushed the farm sector’s cumulative deficit to $28.6 billion for the first six months of the year.

U.S. farm exports to China have fallen sharply, and soybean exports are particularly weak. Soybean export sales have dropped to a 20-year low, with China delaying purchases and turning to South America, raising alarm for U.S. farmers.

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Despite the farm sector’s struggles, the overall U.S. trade deficit narrowed in June to $60.2 billion, its lowest since September 2023, according to the Commerce Department.

Looking ahead, USDA projects the agricultural trade deficit will climb to $49.5 billion in fiscal 2025, up from a record $31.8 billion last year, signaling continued strain for U.S. farmers and agribusinesses.

In an email statement to Bloomberg News, the White House said the president cares about farmers.

“‘Trump will continue to open markets and level the playing field for American farmers to ensure they can sell as many made-in-America products as possible,” according to the White House.

Soybean farmers feel brunt of China’s retreat

The American Soybean Association (ASA) says U.S. soybean growers are bearing the heaviest costs of Trump’s trade fight with China, as the world’s largest soybean buyer all but walks away from the U.S. market.

China typically accounts for more than 60 percent of global soybean imports and has long been the top customer for U.S. growers, once purchasing nearly a third of American production. But retaliatory tariffs imposed since 2018 have steadily shifted those purchases to Brazil, where lower costs and infrastructure investments backed by China have expanded production.

In marketing year 2023-24, U.S. exports to China fell to 22 percent of production, compared to 31 percent during the peak of the Phase One trade deal. With no new Chinese orders for the 2025-26 crop year, soybean futures have dropped this summer, pressuring farm families already facing high production costs and shrinking margins.

“Farmers can’t afford casual trade policies when China walks away from U.S. soy,” the group warned.

China buys more soybeans than the rest of the world combined, accounting for 61 percent of global soybean imports over the past five years. For decades, U.S. farmers were China’s primary supplier. Before the 2018 trade war, roughly 28 percent of U.S. soybean production went to China, representing about 60 percent of total U.S. soybean exports.

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Those figures have since plunged. During the trade war, U.S. soybean exports to China fell from an annual average of $12.8 billion to just $4.7 billion in 2018-19 and $5.8 billion in 2019-20. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated farmers lost $9.4 billion annually during that period, or 71 percent of all ag export losses.

Backed by Chinese investment and cheaper production costs, Brazil produced 42 percent more soybeans than the U.S. in 2024-25 — nearly matching China’s entire annual demand.

ASA leaders stressed that the economic ripple effects extend beyond growers.

“The shrinking profit margins will have widespread economic impacts, not just for farm families and young farmers who will suffer the losses more acutely, but rural communities will suffer as well amid the lack of reinvestment from the agricultural sector,” the group said.

The ASA also welcomed the U.S.–Japan Trade Agreement signed Sept. 5, which secures $8 billion in annual purchases, including soy.

“This news comes at a critical time as U.S. soybean farmers begin harvest,” ASA President Caleb Ragland said in a statement. “... Reliable agreements like this not only strengthen markets for U.S. soy and keep America’s farm families a priority, but also help our farmers remain competitive in the global marketplace.”

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com