Hundreds of farmers gathered in Brookland, Arkansas last week as producers told congressional staffers about a combination of a bumper crop, disappearing export markets and higher input costs for items like fertilizer due to higher import tariffs.
Hundreds of farmers gathered in Brookland, Arkansas last week as producers told congressional staffers about a combination of a bumper crop, disappearing export markets and higher input costs for items like fertilizer due to higher import tariffs.
Transcript
Hundreds of farmers gathered in Brookland, Arkansas last week as producers told congressional staffers about a combination of a bumper crop, disappearing export markets and higher input costs for items like fertilizer due to higher import tariffs.
As reported by KATV in Little Rock, the group also stopped for a prayer.
Main Street USA businesses centered on agriculture have experienced fewer sales as farmers look to cut costs wherever possible.
Dr. Ryan Loy, Assistant Professor Extension Economist, University of Arkansas: “what's going on right now is, is a is really not due at all, to poor money management on a farmers part, right. They do everything marketing, they cut costs, they handle everything. And they've got things pretty, pretty sewed up tight and solid. But there's these outside market factors that are occurring right now that just makes it very difficult for them.
Dr. Ryan Loy, Assistant Professor and Extension Economist at the University of Arkansas says these challenges are heightened as rice and soybean exports have dropped in the last year.
Dr. Ryan Loy, Assistant Professor Extension Economist, University of Arkansas: “I think that the China ship, in terms and physically, metaphorically has really sailed, overall. And I think that this has been a slow, shift since 2018, since the first trade war, if you think about it from a purely a business perspective. Right. If I'm China and commodities are on the whole not saying that they actually are, but if commodities are all the same, I have a better relationship with Brazil and I can get it cheaper.”
With half of U.S. soybeans exported, this leaves all U.S. farmers, including those in the Razorback State turning to the federal government for aid in the same manner as it with payments in 2018 and 2019 that totaled nearly $23 billion. USDA forecasts agricultural exports to China to be $9 billion next year, down from a peak of $36 billion 2022.
Dr. Ryan Loy, Assistant Professor Extension Economist, University of Arkansas: “If the policy is isolationism and we are going to tariff everybody, well, they, they can retaliate. And unfortunately the pawn in that is going to be the farmer. Right. They're going to be the first ones attacked because that's the easiest. That's kind of the Achilles heel. And so really they're asking for immediate support to get to 2026.
For Market to Market, I’m Colleen Krantz.
Watch More
Agriculture gets sorted to the side during high-stakes negotiations with China. The yeas have it - E15 is approved in the House but not without some pushback. Revving up fans, drivers, and rural communities on the dirt track. And, commodity market analysis with Naomi Blohm.
President Trump met with Chinese President Xi this week in a highly anticipated two-day summit.
Oil, fertilizer, and protein join the discussion for our Market Plus with Naomi Blohm along with corn, soybeans and weather.
One wet blanket hangs over the corn market in our Market Analysis with Naomi Blohm. We also cover cheese and soybean demand as part of the commodity story.
The U.S. House approved the sale of year-round E15. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate.
Underneath the fun and excitement surrounding the rituals of dirt track racing at local speedways are the spinning wheels of economic good that smalltown race tracks bring to their communities.