Tariffs Threaten Indiana Soybean Farmers' Bottom Line

. President Trump's announcement of a 90-day pause on tariffs, except for China, has major implications for soybean farmers in the state.

Rick Persinger, a generational farmer who grows half soybeans and corn on his 1,000-acre farm, said, "It's kind of overwhelming and unnerving." The uncertainty has lingered since tariffs were announced this year, affecting farmers' bottom lines.

"The price of grain has been down. Our fertilizer, some of our input has been up, so take the combination of the two - it just affects our bottom line," Persinger explained.

Soybeans are used for animal and human food, industrial products like biodiesel and plastics, and much of Indiana's crop is exported to China. However, with tariffs in place, farmers fear this could now change.

"There will be people that raise crops this year that probably will not show an income at all. They'll be in the red," Persinger said. "When everybody tariffs our products, places will find other sources."

Russell Hillberry, a Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue, explained, "Soybean production, about 60% of it is exported, and about 60% of the soybeans that are imported in the world, are imported by China. So the soybean farmers are very much dependent on the Chinese market."

Hillberry also noted that this situation is different from what happened in 2018 during President Trump's first term.

Kyle Anderson, an IU Economist, added, "It leads to lower incomes. It can lead to lower land values. All these sorts of things cascade and you know, we've been in periods in the past in this country where farmers have really struggled to get by, and I'm concerned we may be going down that path again."

The American Soybean Association estimated that the Chinese Tariff could result in $5.9 billion annually in lost revenues and reduce U.S. soybean acreage by 2.2 million acres.

This is extremely concerning as U.S. soybean growers continue to see hardships from the 2018 trade dispute and have never regained that lost market share. A prolonged trade war will do long-term damage to U.S. agriculture, destroy soy export markets, and open the door for South American competitors to replace the U.S. as suppliers.