‘Farmageddon’ can’t be solved with a bailout alone

It’s harvest time in the Midwest and farmers are bringing in bumper crops of soybeans, corn and wheat. They should be elated. But their best customers are shopping elsewhere as a result of a global trade war ignited by President Donald Trump. Punishing tariffs have created what some are calling “Farmaggedon.” China, once a top destination for American soybeans, has signaled its displeasure with Trump’s tariffs by locking out U.S. farmers in favor of more stable partners in Brazil and Argentina. Soybeans are this country’s largest agricultural export, valued at more than $24 billion in 2024, with about half usually going to China. But China has made no purchases from this harvest, with disastrous results for American growers. Soybeans are piling up across the Midwest, spilling out of bins and grain elevators from North Dakota to Missouri. And farmers are suffering a double whammy because the costs of the inputs needed to grow those soybeans — fertilizer, seeds, potash, equipment — are rising, also because of tariffs. Much of the potash used by Midwestern farmers comes from CWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times