NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RFD-TV) — Corn exports have not been as heavily impacted by trade tariffs as other commodity crops. However, according to Troy Schneider, a board member of the National Corn Growers Association (NGCA), corn growers still face similar challenges as they navigate the impact of tariffs.
“The tariffs have not affected our exports like they have other commodities,” Schneider said. “We’re seeing record exports of our corn going across the border into Mexico, into other countries, and that’s something we’re excited about.”
The NGCA leader says growers are struggling to keep up with rising input costs, such as those linked to tariffs on steel and fertilizer, impacting their bottom line.
“However, when you have those record high prices—you know, steel, you look at steel—okay, if I wanted to put a new irrigation well in right now, re-drill it, the casing alone would have…I wouldn’t want to guess what the percent-increase would be from five, six years ago, before COVID,” Schneider said. “And so, it’s just those input prices; yes, we are paying it. We’re paying it both ways, in every way.”
NGCA has recently formed a task force to address the growing needs of farmers in its sector, citing the exponential increase in input costs and the need to address these issues as the catalyst for the task force’s formation.
The USDA is set to issue a second ECAP payment and inform farmers that any application approved after September 25 will receive the payment in a single lump sum.
