Sen. Amy Klobuchar speaks during a Senate candidates forum at Farmfest in Morgan, Minn., on Aug. 7, 2024. (Shari L. Gross/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Other than a short spike right after the pandemic, crop prices have been depressed since the 2018-2020 trade wars from Trump’s first administration and largely continued under President Joe Biden. Further tariff increases this year, with the possibility of more, have heightened uncertainty in the commodities markets.
The result has been a slow march toward a reshaped global trade system for Midwestern corn and soybean farmers. After enjoying decades of global market expansion, many are now staring at unmanageable amounts of debt.
Costs have increased sharply in the past few years.
Seed, fertilizer and farmland rental rates are higher, said Sam Ziegler, director of GreenSeam, a southern Minnesota agriculture initiative. So are insurance costs due to flooding, hail and windstorms of the past few years. Aging farmers pay more for health care costs. And on increasingly digitized farms, cybersecurity is increasingly expensive.
“If you lose money today, you’re going to lose a lot more, a lot faster,” said Ziegler, who also farms outside Good Thunder.
Farmers in turn are tightening their belts. Two years ago, 50% of agricultural businesses in Minnesota said they plan to hire more employees, Ziegler said. This year, only 38% said they were expanding.