U.S. corn farmers struggle to survive amid U.S.-China trade war

World Today

A bountiful corn harvest drives prices down even further for U.S. farmers hammered by the trade war with China.

U.S. corn farmers could lose as much as $3.5 billion this year. That’s partly due to bad data from the government, but it’s also because of the trade war with China.

CGTN’s Hendrik Sybrandy speaks to some farmers in Colorado, as they harvest their crop.

Keith Amen farms corn near Ault, Colorado. He’s been farming with his family for 50 years now. The other day, he was doing some fall tillage, preparing the ground for next year’s crop. These are tough times for Amen and many of his neighbors.

“It seems like all agricultural products are interrelated,” Amen said. “When you have a negative effect on one product, especially soybeans, it will have a negative impact on corn as well.”

China’s 25% tariff on U.S. soybeans has helped push commodity prices down across the board. Corn, which reached a high of $8 a bushel back in 2012, is selling for $3.88 now.

“If you’re selling a corn crop for $3.50 a bushel, $4 a bushel, that’s not going to pay a lot of bills,” Amen said.

Tim Magnuson, who farms nearby, says he’s learned to adapt to those lower prices.

“You tighten the belt a little bit and hope for the best,” Magnuson said. “Of course everybody wants more for their product but sometimes you don’t get it.”

Corn yields have gone up over the years, thanks to improved technology and farming practices, so in a way, folks like Magnuson are victims of their own success.

One major worry for corn farmers is that corn becomes even more abundant and prices fall even further, as soybean farmers switch to their crop.

“There’s some of that going on,” said Dale McCall of the Rocky Mountain Farmers’ Union. “I’ve heard as much as 25-30% in certain locations.”

He thinks trade tensions with China, Canada and Mexico may be hurting farmers most of all.

“The longer these trade wars go on, the more uncertain it becomes and right now it impacts what you’re going to plant, it impacts whether or not you’re going to get an operating loan,” McCall said.

Farmers differ on whether those trade disputes will lead to better times down the road.

“We hope that it’s 25, 30 years of good working relationships with China,” said John Widdowson in Nebraska. “There’ll be a cost with that and pain but we’re willing to go through that.”

“I know trade deals are necessary but to use farmers and agriculture as pawns isn’t something that people in Washington should be doing,” said Amen in Colorado.

Low prices may prompt Amen to store his corn this winter in the hopes he can sell at a higher price next year. That’s an option he says many younger farmers don’t have. He’s calm about the situation on the outside.

“Oh, there’s definitely turmoil that you’re not seeing,” he said. “I try not to dwell on it so that it doesn’t affect me that much.”

But it’s part of the American agriculture landscape that’s always been unpredictable, now even more so.

“Hopefully ag[riculcture] prices will get a little better and we’ll make a little money,” said Magnuson.