Farmers React To Tariffs During Harvest
SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2018 
JOYLYN BUKOVAC EVANSVILLE, INDIANA
Early numbers show yields from this year’s harvest are up. However, prices are down, and farmers are hoping the White House does something to help improve their bottom line.
“In the incoming years, especially next year people will have to watch their income dollars, expenses in the spring that they keep them down enough to make a profit or break even with the low prices,†says a farmer, Ralph Gries.
Ralph Gries is in the middle of harvesting the crops he’s grown, but two significant factors may reduce the price he gets for the crops. One is the nice weather, which produced an abundant supply of grain. The other is the trade war with places like China.
“We are very concerned about that. Just that fact of productivity and what our dollars will mean to us. You take that away from us, that takes our profit away,†says Gries.
However, officials say things will likely get worse before they get better.
“Dollars coming in will not be enough to cover all of their expenses this year. So where do they get extra money to pay their expenses? Well obviously this government assistance is going to be helpful, and it is, for soybeans, a significant amount of money,†says Agricultural Economist, Chris Hurt.
The Trump administration has instructed the United States Department of Agriculture to make payments to farmers for the first half of production. However, it will not make up for all of Farmer’s losses.
“It will help, but it shouldn’t be our resolution for this the government shouldn’t have to take care of everybody,†says Gries.
Aside from trying to cut costs, farmers like Gries may hold onto their crops longer than usual at hopes prices rebound.
“Farmers probably will hang onto their crops a little bit longer to try to catch if this tariff does change around and to you know to take advantage of that the best they can. Some of them obviously have to sell crops to pay their bills, but they will be watching that closely,†says Gries.
