What They Are Saying: Agricultural Stakeholders React to Trump's Tariffs

March 06, 2025

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(U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture Democrats) Caleb Ragland, president, American Soybean Association: “Farmers are frustrated. Tariffs are not something to take lightly and ‘have fun’ with. Not only do they hit our family businesses squarely in the wallet, but they rock a core tenet on which our trading relationships are built, and that is reliability. Being able to reliably supply a quality product to them consistently.”

Josh Gackle, chairman, American Soybean Association: “We do everything we can to create domestic demand, whether it’s through biofuels or feeding our product to livestock. But you can’t eliminate the export market and expect there’s going to be a price that farmers can run their farms on.”

Lori Stevermer, president, National Pork Producers Council: “Mexico is our number one market for exports, so any type of disruptions are of concern, especially the retaliatory tariffs that might come back to us. It’s also important to note that we, as an industry, get young, weaned pigs from Canada that would be affected by those tariffs also, which would add cost to our producers. Those pigs are raised in states like Minnesota and Iowa.”

Dave Puglia, CEO, Western Growers Association: “In the last month, the looming threat of these tariffs was enough to prompt some major Canadian grocery chains to either cancel orders from American growers as they pivoted to other countries capable of supplying them or to require American growers to secure a foreign product supply to supplant their U.S.-grown crops. There is no question that with the move to impose these tariffs, our members will confront sweeping retaliatory actions that effectively block our American-grown fresh produce from those markets. The risk is not just an immediate one. Years after the China tariffs and the predictable Chinese tariffs imposed in retaliation on many of our members’ U.S.-grown products, our ability to sell into the Chinese market remains handicapped in no small part because other countries took advantage of the disruption and captured much of that market. This lingering economic harm is quite likely to be replicated this time on a broader scale as Canada and Mexico represent the top two export markets for fresh produce grown in the United States.”

Kenneth Hartman, president, National Corn Growers Association: “Farmers are facing a troubling economic landscape due to rising input costs and declining corn prices. We ask President Trump to quickly negotiate agreements with Mexico, Canada and China that will benefit American farmers while addressing issues important to the United States. We call on our trading partners to work with the president to resolve these issues so that that we can restore vital market access.”

Krysta Harden, CEO, U.S. Dairy Export Council: “Exports are fundamental to the health of the U.S. dairy industry. One day’s worth of milk production out of every six is destined for international consumers, and U.S. dairy sales to Mexico, Canada, and China account for 51% of our total global exports. That’s a lot at stake.”

Farmers for Free Trade: “There will be significant national economic implications with all these tariffs in effect. Based on 2024 data, the new rates will result in an estimated $300 billion more in tariffs, or over $824 million in extra taxes on U.S. importers per day.”

Rob Larew, president, National Farmers Union: “The tariffs announced today, along with retaliatory measures from China and Canada, will have serious consequences for American agriculture. Our farmers are the backbone of this country, and they need strong, fair trade policies that ensure they can compete on a level playing field—not be caught in the middle of international disputes. We are already facing significant economic uncertainty, and these actions only add to the strain. […] Promises alone won’t pay the bills or keep farms afloat. Without a clear plan, family farmers will once again be left to bear the burden of decisions beyond their control, and eventually, so will consumers. We urge the administration to work with our trading partners to prevent further harm to rural communities.”

Zippy Duvall, president, American Farm Bureau Federation: “Farmers and ranchers are concerned with the decision to impose increased tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China – our top trading partners. Last year, the U.S. exported more than $83 billion in agricultural products to the three countries. Approximately 85% of our total potash supply – a key ingredient in fertilizer – is imported from Canada. For the third straight year, farmers are losing money on almost every major crop planted. Adding even more costs and reducing markets for American agricultural goods could create an economic burden some farmers may not be able to bear.”

Gary Wertish, president, Minnesota Farmers Union: “[F]armers, this is their livelihood. It's not a game. We're dealing with low, low prices and high input costs. So, the margin's not there. And you know this, this is definitely going to hurt farmers and consumers.”

Justin Sherlock, president, North Dakota Soybean Growers Association: “You know, we haven't really recovered from the first trade war with China. And right now, producers have very little to fall back on. This is the time of year when most family farm operations are working to renew their operating loans with their lending institutions, with their banks. So, you know, are the banks going to continue to provide lending services to us if we can't guarantee that we can pay back our operating loans? […] This could potentially really hurt a lot of family farms, and you know, whether they're able to stay in business in 2025.”

Brian Duncan, president, Illinois Farm Bureau: “We remain deeply concerned with the use of tariffs and their potential to spark retaliation on America’s farmers. Illinois farmers’ products — from grains and feed, corn, soybeans, ethanol, beef, pork, and more — rely on access to foreign markets and will undoubtedly be impacted by these new tariffs either through increased prices or decreased market access. This uncertainty coupled with an already struggling farm economy has farmers worried as we head into planting season.”

Nick Levendofsky, president, Kansas Farmers Union: “This isn’t a game. It’s not a reality TV show. It’s reality. There’s nothing fun or funny about this, when you’ve got markets that have been built up for years and decades, frankly, that are now being put into question and people are wondering if they’re going to be able to raise the crop, make it work, pay for things that they need to pay for, make a living, all of those things. […] It’s a global market, but when you’re upsetting your neighbours, your biggest trading partners that are easy-access markets, then you’re cutting your nose off to spite your face, is what you’re doing, and then you get the retaliatory tariffs, which then causes us to pay more for all these products.”

Walter Schweitzer, president, Montana Farmers Union: “The U.S. is the largest beef exporter in the world. We’re also one of the largest beef importers in the world. Tariffs hit us both ways on that. […] Most of our feeder calves go north to the border to be finished, fed out, and many of them come back to the United States to be processed. Most of our inputs for growing our feed come from Canada. So, these tariffs would have a very adverse impact on the cattle ranchers of Montana.”

Chad Franke, president, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union: “We’re really good at raising healthy, safe, and cost-effective food to the point that we produce way more than this country needs. To say that we’re just going to sell it domestically is like saying you should put 20 gallons of gas in your 15-gallon gas tank. Farmers and ranchers already have enough uncertainty in their daily lives. They don’t need any more.”

Kip Eideberg, senior vice president, Association of Equipment Manufacturers (per The Hagstrom Report): “Tariffs are taxes. They are taxes on American companies and farmers. They will drive up the cost of making equipment in the United States. They are inflationary, which is bad news for equipment manufacturers. We are extremely concerned about the tariffs that are set to take place at midnight. […] All tariffs will drive up the cost of making equipment in the United States. We always try to source inputs close to manufacturing operations, but some cannot be sourced at scale inside the United States.”

Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute: “The 25 percent tariffs on critical fertilizer imports from Canada, including potash, ammonium sulfate, nitrogen fertilizers and sulfur will drive up the cost of production for U.S. farmers. These costs ripple throughout the agriculture community, ultimately leading to higher prices at the grocery store.”

Steve Kuiper, director, Iowa Corn Growers: “Farmers are very concerned. […] In the end we want good trade agreements where it benefits us as U.S. producers. Not only does the tariff hurt us from a business standpoint, it hurts the consumers around the country.”

Greg Tyler, CEO, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council: “Tariff wars are only serving to harm those who rely on international trade to support their livelihoods.”

Barb Kalbach, soybean farmer, Dexter, IA: “He’s out there with his wrecking ball just throwing tariffs around. This is just going to take parts of our markets away.”

Danny Lundell, corn and soybean farmer, Cannon Falls, MN: “He creates a lot of chaos and uncertainty in the farming community. There's a lot of nervousness going on right now.”

Dennis Campbell, president, Crystal Creek Enterprises: “We grow corn and soybeans here in the Midwest, and soybeans are primarily an international export product force. China will not change the amount of soybeans that they buy. They’re just going to buy it from somebody else, we could potentially overload the domestic the US marketplace, which would drive down prices.”

Marc Busch, Karl F. Landegger Professor of International Business Diplomacy, Georgetown School of Foreign Service: “Agriculture took the brunt of retaliatory tariffs by China last time, and certainly agriculture is going to be the main target of today’s retaliatory strikes. The expectation among ag stakeholders is that it will only be worse this time.”

Joe Janzen, assistant professor of agricultural economics, University of Illinois: “There is no domestic market for the amount of corn, soybeans, wheat, and other agricultural products that we now export in significant quantities.”

Francis Lun, CEO, Geo Securities, Hong Kong, CN: “I don't think China will buy any more U.S. farm products. The orders will go to South America. I think all in all, it's a lose-lose situation. Nobody gains anything.”

Donald J. Trump, president, United States of America: “Have fun!” READ MORE

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