WEST ALLIS, Wis. — As President Donald Trump’s trade war threatens to drive down the price of agricultural products, Wisconsin farmers say they’re confident that the president’s sweeping tariffs will pay off.
“I’m super supportive of fair and free trade, and I think the end result is gonna be good when we get done with the process,” Kevin Klahn, a grain farmer from the village of Brooklyn, Wisconsin, said. “But there’s gonna be some pain in the meantime.”
Trump’s long-promised tariffs on imports from dozens of countries took effect on Thursday, and more could be on the way as the White House’s negotiations with China continue. Increased import taxes are expected to raise prices for consumers, and retaliatory tariffs could make it difficult for U.S. exporters to find buyers for their goods.
Watch: Wisconsin farmers react to tariffs
“Tariffs, either on our part or on the part of our export market destinations, are not helpful for farmers in Wisconsin,” Chuck Nicholson, an agricultural economist at UW-Madison, said. “The longer we keep them in place, the bigger the negative impacts will be.”
Wisconsin exported nearly $4 billion in agricultural and food products in 2024, according to the state agency that oversees agriculture. The state’s three biggest trade partners – Canada, Mexico and China – accounted for more than half that amount.
Nicholson projects that farms could start to see substantial decreases in income within months of retaliatory tariffs taking effect.
“The impacts if we maintain those policies in place over six months, 12 months, through the end of the current administration, will build and get bigger, but they start out at levels that will be noticeable for farms,” he said.
Klahn says he and other farmers are bracing for the impact.
“We’re spending less money, we’re investing in less equipment, trying to stretch the dollar out a little longer, anticipating that those impacts are gonna come at us,” he said.
Shane Goplin, who farms grain in Osseo, Wisconsin, said he hopes to see the trade war open up new markets overseas, as well as spur new research into alternative uses for crops, such as biofuels.
“Where one door closes, another one opens,” he said. “Where you may not see opportunity in one country, there’s another country that will step up to the plate and take our exports.”
As Goplin sees it, the tariffs are an opportunity to set Wisconsin’s agricultural economy up for success in the decades to come, instead of relying on the same foreign trade partners.
“President Trump, this is what he ran on, you know? So, it’s no secret what he’s doing,” Goplin said. “He’s been very transparent in what his philosophy is, and he got overwhelmingly elected.”
According to Nicholson, it would be difficult for the U.S. to take on the surplus of soybeans or dairy products that several years of retaliatory tariffs from China or Canada could cause – at least not without prices plummeting.
“It would be really quite disruptive, and there’s no real way to absorb that amount of product and kind of maintain the current pricing relationships that we have,” he said.
It’s a difficulty farmers recognize, too.
“As a whole, I think the analysts are right: We’re gonna hit the biggest production year in corn and soybeans that we’ve ever had as a nation,” Klahn said. “You couple that with limited, restricted exports, the supplies are going to be overwhelming, I’m afraid.”
Trump launched a trade war with China during his first term, prompting retaliatory tariffs that caused soy bean exports to plummet. To prop up the agricultural industry, Trump distributed billions in federal aid payments to farmers.
Both Goplin and Klahn agree that’s not a situation they’d like to see repeated.
“I’d rather make our money through our production. Farmers are honest people and we’d just as soon not receive a handout for something, but if that’s what it takes to stabilize our operations and see our way through it, I think it’s justified,” Klahn said.
As President Donald Trump’s trade war threatens to drive down the price of agricultural products, Wisconsin farmers say they’re confident that the president’s sweeping tariffs will pay off.
“I’m super supportive of fair and free trade, and I think the end result is gonna be good when we get done with the process,” Kevin Klahn, a grain farmer from the village of Brooklyn, Wisconsin, said. “But there’s gonna be some pain in the meantime.”
Trump’s long-promised tariffs on imports from dozens of countries took effect on Thursday, and more could be on the way as the White House’s negotiations with China continue. Increased import taxes are expected to raise prices for consumers, and retaliatory tariffs could make it difficult for U.S. exporters to find buyers for their goods.
“Tariffs, either on our part or on the part of our export market destinations, are not helpful for farmers in Wisconsin,” Chuck Nicholson, an agricultural economist at UW-Madison, said. “The longer we keep them in place, the bigger the negative impacts will be.”
Wisconsin exported nearly $4 billion in agricultural and food products in 2024, according to the state agency that oversees agriculture. The state’s three biggest trade partners – Canada, Mexico and China – accounted for more than half that amount.
Nicholson projects that farms could start to see substantial decreases in income within months of retaliatory tariffs taking effect.
“The impacts if we maintain those policies in place over six months, twelve months, through the end of the current administration, will build and get bigger, but they start out at levels that will be noticeable for farms,” he said.
Klahn says he and other farmers are bracing for the impact.
“We’re spending less money, we’re investing in less equipment, trying to stretch the dollar out a little longer, anticipating that those impacts are gonna come at us,” he said.
Shane Goplin, who farms grain in Osseo, Wisconsin, said he hopes to see the trade war open up new markets overseas, as well as spur new research into alternative uses for crops, such as biofuels.
“Where one door closes, another one opens,” he said. “Where you may not see opportunity in one country, there’s another country that will step up to the plate and take our exports.”
As Goplin sees it, the tariffs are an opportunity to set Wisconsin’s agricultural economy up for success in the decades to come, instead of relying on the same foreign trade partners.
“President Trump, this is what he ran on, you know? So, it’s no secret what he’s doing,” Goplin said. “He’s been very transparent in what his philosophy is, and he got overwhelmingly elected.”
According to Nicholson, it would be difficult for the U.S. to take on the surplus of soybeans or dairy products that several years of retaliatory tariffs from China or Canada could cause – at least not without prices plummeting.
“It would be really quite disruptive, and there’s no real way to absorb that amount of product and kind of maintain the current pricing relationships that we have,” he said.
It’s a difficulty farmers recognize, too.
“As a whole, I think the analysts are right: We’re gonna hit the biggest production year in corn and soybeans that we’ve ever had as a nation,” Klahn said. “You couple that with limited, restricted exports, the supplies are going to be overwhelming, I’m afraid.”
Trump launched a trade war with China during his first term, prompting retaliatory tariffs that caused soy bean exports to plummet. To prop up the agricultural industry, Trump distributed billions in federal aid payments to farmers.
Both Goplin and Klahn agree that’s not a situation they’d like to see repeated.
“I’d rather make our money through our production. Farmers are honest people and we’d just as soon not receive a handout for something, but if that’s what it takes to stabilize our operations and see our way through it, I think it’s justified,” Klahn said.
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