Farmers Face High Costs from Tariffs

Farmers across the country are feeling the weight of rising costs as tariffs drive up the price of fertilizer, pesticides, and farm equipment. Agriculture is the backbone of many communities, but these added expenses are making it harder for family farms to survive — and those costs are starting to show up at the grocery store, too.

Fertilizer Costs Keep Climbing

For many row-crop farmers who grow corn, soybeans, and wheat, fertilizer alone can account for more than 30% of their total costs. Prices were already high, but tariffs have pushed them even higher.

Farm economist Gary Schnitkey reports that nitrogen fertilizer costs are up 10–15% from last year. Many farmers are being forced to cut back on fertilizer use, knowing that could lead to smaller harvests and even slimmer margins.

Tariffs Touch Every Part of Farming

The burden isn’t limited to fertilizer. Tariffs now affect nearly every input Virginia farmers — and those across the nation — depend on:

• Herbicides and pesticides: Tariffs of 20% or more

• Tractors and farm machinery: Up to 16% tariffs, plus 13% on parts

• Phosphate and nitrogen fertilizers: Around 10% tariffs, after years of being duty-free

Overall, the average tariff rate on farm inputs has skyrocketed from less than 1% to more than 12% since the Trump administration began.

Strain on Farm Families and Rural Communities

For farm families, higher costs mean difficult choices — postponing equipment repairs, scaling back on family needs, or going deeper into debt just to keep operations running. And when farms struggle, the ripple effects spread across rural communities that rely on farm income to stay afloat.