Kentucky farmers hit by one-two punch of trade war, historic floods
Kentucky farmer Drew Langley got an early start planting soybeans this spring, hoping to boost yields to help soothe the sting of slumping prices after U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with China put demand from the world’s top importer in doubt, News. Az reports citing Investing.
Then the rains came.
Up to 15 inches fell on farms along the southeastern edge of the U.S. Midwest farm belt from April 2-6, flooding Langley’s fields and swamping thousands of acres across the rolling hills of the Bluegrass State where farmers contribute a small but meaningful portion of the nation’s soybean, corn and winter wheat crops. Grain elevators on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, which mark Kentucky’s northern and western borders, offer farmers there access to the nation’s largest export outlet at the Gulf Coast.
The one-two punch of historic floods amid a damaging trade war comes at a challenging moment for farmers in Kentucky, where planting delays are costing them precious time in a year when low prices leave them little margin for error as they struggle to remain profitable.
Farmers across the country are facing similar dilemmas as planting is under way and growers face last-minute decisions about what to plant as global agricultural markets have been upended by tariffs and trade uncertainty.
Nearly 65% of deep red Kentucky’s voters cast ballots for Trump last November, up 3 points from four years earlier, and many farmers, a core constituency for the president, remain supportive of his policy goals.
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