Farmers Fear Tariffs Could Cost Them One Of Their Biggest Markets In China

Heading into this year, most U.S. farmers were hoping to break even or maybe record a small profit if they could find a way to limit their sky-high costs. But now they are faced with losing the biggest export market for many of their crops after China retaliated against President Donald Trump's tariffs .

"There's just not any margin for error in the current farm economy," said Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland, who serves as president of the American Soybean Association.

Soybean and sorghum farmers have particular reason to worry because at least half of those crops are exported and China has long been the biggest buyer. China has also bought a lot of American corn, beef, chicken and other crops as part of spending 24.65 billion on U.S. agricultural products last year. Now with China slapping 34 tariffs on all American products Friday - on top of other tariffs it imposed earlier this year - all of those products will be significantly more expensive in China

Crop prices, much like the stock market , dropped after Trump announced his tariffs earlier this week.

Tim Dufault, whose farm is in northwest Minnesota only about 80 miles south of Canada, said in a good year soybean farmers might make 50 to 75 an acre. But this isn't a good year because crop prices aren't high enough to cover soaring costs, and the price drop in the past two days cost them about 25 an acre, he said.