Louisiana Farmers Brace for Trade Turbulence Amid New Tariffs

By Keely Ana Dillon  

Louisiana Farm Bureau News

Louisiana farmers are no strangers to market instability, but the recent wave of tariffs announced on April 2 added a fresh layer of uncertainty to an already difficult planting season.

LFBF Commodity and Public Policy Director Andy Brown, has fielded many phone calls from both farmers and media. He said the farmers are not panicked but rather recognize the reality of the situation.

“They’re still optimistic,” Brown said. “Farmers are still hopeful and just excited that somebody is taking up for them. But ultimately, it wasn’t sunshine and rainbows before April 2—and it certainly isn’t now.”

The tariffs, part of a broader trade strategy announced by President Donald Trump, would aim to level what many see as a long-standing imbalance in global trade.

“If a thousand bushels of soybeans go to China, they would pay a tariff on it,” Brown explained. “However, China might not pay that same tariff on Brazilian soybeans. It incentivizes them to buy from Brazil.”

It’s that uneven playing field that has long frustrated U.S. farmers.

“We have more regulation, different labor laws and a totally different cost structure,” Brown said. “Other countries don’t play by those rules, and it puts our farmers at an unfair advantage.”

The situation is compounded by the lack of a new Farm Bill.

“Since we didn’t get a Farm Bill done—and Congress has failed to do that a few years in a row—I’ve had very difficult phone calls,” Brown said. “I’ve talked with farmers not getting crop loans and having real bankruptcy hearings. We’ve been able to find some Band-Aids for bullet holes, but that’s not sustainable long-term.”

While LFBF has fought for new safety nets and programs that have the potential to revive market facilitation, the next few weeks will be critical.

“We already knew we’d be back in Congress this year asking for more assistance,” said Brown. “This just amplified that need.”

Even still, Brown would echo the resilient spirit of Louisiana’s agricultural community.

“They’re putting seeds and fertilizer in the ground and doing what they’ve always done—trying to produce the best crop possible,” he said. “None of this is new to them and that’s why you don’t see the shock.”

Brown and LFBF seek a long-term solution for the agricultural community. He explained the only way to obtain that objective would be with both long-term trade deals and an updated Farm Bill.