One out of every seven jobs in Ohio is tied to agriculture. And Ohio farmers are concerned about the impact of tariffs being put into action by the Trump administration.
On Saturday, President Trump signed executive orders to levy 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tax on goods coming from China. He said he is hoping the tariffs will convince those countries to take action on drugs and immigration. But if the past is prologue, those tariffs will have some consequences that farmers fear they will face.
In 2018, when Trump imposed tariffs on China, farmers faced significant losses. His administration spent $23 billion on a program to prop up farmers. A 2018 study by Ohio State University found proposed tariffs over six years could decrease a farm’s net worth by 6% and annual net income by 59%.
The tariffs imposed this weekend are on Mexico and Canada as well as China. Ohio Farm Bureau Federation spokesman Ty Higgins said farmers are facing a lot of uncertainty right now.
“We are talking about the three biggest markets for U.S. ag commodities. And as much concern as there is for products we might bring in from Canada, Mexico, and China, there’s greater concern from the ag sector about what we ship out,” Higgins said.
He explained retaliatory action could be taken on commodities grown in the U.S. and exported. He said 20% of farm income comes from exports alone.
Farmers could be hurt in another way
Higgins says 80% of potash, a substance used by farmers for fertilizer, comes from Canada.
“We are going to need that for this growing season. Now, yes, some farmers have already bought their inputs for 2025 but some have not,” Higgins said. “They could find themselves behind the eight ball for one of two reasons – either not having enough potash to apply to their fields for this growing season or paying much more than they are accustomed to because of the short supply.”
Higgins said it’s already tough for many farmers and the uncertainty of the impact of tariffs makes it tougher to make ends meet.
“We have had a 30% decrease in farm net income over the past two years. The Farm Bill has been extended another year—the Farm Bill from 2018,” Higgins said. He noted a lot of things have changed since 2018. And Higgins said extreme weather has made farming more challenging.
All of those complications and the tariffs could also make it harder for farmers to get money from banks because Higgins said lenders would be more cautious due to these uncertainties.
