‘Everything, everywhere, all at once’: Tariffs, costs and disease squeeze Iowa farms

Photo: Soybeans grow through corn residue from the previous season on Mike Starkey’s no-till farm in Brownsburg, Indiana Sept. 23, 2022. Photo credit: NRCS photo by Brandon O’Connor via USDA / Flickr. Public Domain. Article by Tom Barton. The Gazette – September 22, 2025.

Senate Republicans from farm states and soybean growers are sounding the alarm over President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which they say are deepening economic pain in rural America. The U.S. agricultural trade deficit ballooned to a record $28.6 billion in the first half 2025, driven in large part by collapsing soybean exports to China and higher input costs on farms. Producers say tariffs are raising prices on critical supplies like steel for machinery, while foreign buyers shift to competitors in Brazil and elsewhere. […]

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