• Trade disputes, weather, low crop prices and labor shortages causing uncertainty, profit loss for Michigan farmers
• New state data shows agricultural exports are less than half of what they were last year for key crops like soybeans, apples and cherries
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week criticized tariffs, pushed for farmer-friendly state budget

---

West Michigan farmer Jim May has given up on the idea of making a profit off his harvest this year. At this point, he’s just hoping he breaks even. 

“I don’t think we’re even going to cover expenses,” the Sparta-based corn and soybean farmer told Bridge Michigan. “Last year was bad enough, but you know, you paid the bills. This year is worse.”

Michigan farmers face uncertainty even in the best of times, with workforce shortages, fluctuating crop prices and ever-unpredictable weather patterns. 

But this year, they’ve faced new threats: Trade disputes stemming from President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs, a summer drought in key growing regions and the unknown future of the federal farm bill. 

“This is an uncertain time for Michigan farmers and rural businesses that work with them,” said Chuck Lippstreu, president of the Michigan Agri-Business Association. “As long as there have been farmers, farmers have been dealing with uncertainty…But no doubt, today is different.”

Farm groups have been sounding the alarm on the impacts of tariffs on Michigan farmers for months, citing the state’s close two-way trade relationship with Canada and the possibilities of restricted markets, decreased profits for farmers and higher food prices for consumers. 

State officials say some of those fears are already coming to pass.

In the first half of 2025, Michigan soybean meal exports fell by 46% compared to the prior year, wheat exports declined 89%, fresh cherry exports fell 62% and fresh apple exports declined 58%, according to a report released Monday by the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Tim Boring, director of Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said he continues to hear from farmers and producers across the state who are “deeply concerned about their ability to weather market uncertainty.” 

“Tariffs are jeopardizing agricultural jobs, disrupting rural economies and reducing Michiganders’ access to affordable food,” Boring said in a statement.

China boycott and a ‘financial precipice’

One major stressor for farmers: a Chinese boycott of US soybeans prompted by an ongoing trade dispute with the Trump administration. China is the world’s largest soybean importer and in recent months has turned to Brazilian farmers for its soybean needs. 

“China hasn’t bought a soybean,” said Jed Welder, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat on his farm in Sheridan, northeast of Grand Rapids. “At this point last year they bought about 40% of our crop.”

Still, Welder said, he and his farming neighbors are stopping short of criticizing President Trump.

“We all voted for this administration and the president is a big fan of farmers. In fact, my dad has a green John Deere MAGA hat,” he said. “So we’re all trying to just be patient.”

Trump last month urged China to quadruple its US soybean purchases, and US and Chinese officials are meeting this week in Spain to discuss terms of a possible trade deal.

The American Soybean Association, in an Aug. 19 letter to Trump, warned that soybean farmers “are standing at a trade and financial precipice,” warning the president that the longer it takes him to reach a trade deal with China, “the worse the impacts will be on US soybean farmers.” 

May, the Sparta farmer, said the standoff is impacting “everybody that raises soybeans.” Personally, he’s put off buying any new equipment or making upgrades to his farm due to the uncertainty. 

Short of additional government subsidies for farmers losing markets to South American farmers or forced to sell at lower-than-anticipated prices, a warm autumn is the best case scenario to salvage the year, May said. 

“If we have good weather to get the harvest done, it just makes things so that you don’t have to worry as much,” he said. 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned this week that tariffs are “causing massive uncertainty for our farmers and agriculture industry, threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs statewide.” She urged state lawmakers to include pro-farmer funding as they attempt to negotiate a new state budget. 

Soybean farmers are predicting strong yields this fall, meaning China being out of the market “presents a major concern,” said Lippstreu of the Michigan Agri-Business Association. 

Lippstreu said the agriculture industry is encouraged by tariff exemptions for agricultural trade between the US, Canada and Mexico, stressing that with Canada in particular, Michigan needs to see “a long-term, predictable trade relationship continue.”

Weather woes and other stressors

But it’s not just tariffs — weather, low sales prices and high operational costs are also squeezing many Michigan farmers.

Throughout this year’s growing season, parts of southwest Michigan, mid-Michigan and the Thumb experienced conditions ranging from dryness to moderate-to-severe drought. On July 30, the USDA designated Gladwin County a disaster area because of drought conditions.

Welder, the farmer in Sheridan, said he experienced 43 days without any measurable precipitation. That hurt his corn crop.

“I would estimate we’ve taken about a third off of our yield that we anticipate every year,” he said.

Related:

• Michigan farmers facing ‘uncertain future’ amid funding freezes, tariff tensions
• Gretchen Whitmer warns Michigan: ‘Undeniable signs of an ailing economy’
• Michigan farmer suicide help may be endangered by state funding snub

Kristin Poley, the director of research and agronomy at Corn Marketing Program of Michigan, said several hot days in the state meant it often didn’t get cool enough at night for dew to form. That left a lot of corn without essential moisture.

“We’re seeing pollination issues, and that’s where you’re not going to have every kernel of corn pollinated,” Poley said. “So that’s going to reduce yield. And then now we’re not seeing those kernels fill out, and that’s going to reduce yield.”

In 2024, the USDA said corn grain, at $1.45 billion, was the most valuable field crop in Michigan. The department is expecting a record high corn harvest nationwide this year. Michigan, Poley said, is projecting a good year, but not a record year for corn, and that’s because of the weather.

Theresa Sisung, an industry relations specialist for the Michigan Farm Bureau, said that, despite a smattering of weather events that impact the crop yield in the state, overall she’s “not in panic mode.” 

She is, however, hearing from some farmers that they’ve experienced the worst drought in their lifetimes. 

“Those are limited areas, but that’s still a huge impact for those individuals in those regions,” she said.

Mostly what she’s hearing from farmers, Sisung said, is that they’re struggling in Michigan and across the country with low sales prices for their products. This hurts especially hard because input costs for things like fertilizer, seeds, fuel, labor and financing have gone up. 

Wheat is having a good year in Michigan. In July, the USDA said the state had produced around 43 million bushels of winter wheat, up from around 32 million bushels the previous year.

Welder, the Sheridan farmer, said when he harvested his wheat back in July, he saw his highest yield ever. But it didn’t really matter.

“I got the same prices that my dad got for wheat back in the 1970s,” he said. “You have a huge war going on between Russia and Ukraine, which are the two largest exporters of wheat in the world, and yet the price is still really low. So no one can quite explain that to us.”

Welder said he plans to cut back on how much wheat he plants next year.

Apples looking ‘really good’

Fruits and vegetables are considered “specialty crops” and are treated differently under federal policies than commodity row crops like wheat, corn or soybeans. 

Apples, the largest fruit crop in Michigan, are expected to have an above-average crop yield this year, the industry announced in August. The Michigan Apple Committee said weather conditions were ideal for the fruit this year, with no significant frost and freeze events in the spring and a gradual increase in temperatures leading into the summer.

Jack King is the vice president of crop protection at King Orchards in Central Lake near Charlevoix. He said their apple crop “looks really good” and he’s optimistic about the season. But that doesn’t mean he’s worry free. 

King said the ability to find workers to hand pick and thin apples, and hand trim trees in the off-season, can be tricky. He thinks the job is beautiful because you’re outside in an orchard.

“At the same time, it’s an absolute miserable job because you work outside, it rains and it snows, and it’s cold and it’s hot, and it’s physical, and it’s a lot of work. Very few people are interested in a job like that,” he said.

King Orchards, like many specialty crop farmers, relies heavily on the H-2A Temporary Agriculture Workers program, which allows them to bring in workers from Latin American countries like Mexico for a year at a time.

“We’ve got really, really good guys that continue to come back and work with us. We’re very happy to have them. And without that program, we wouldn’t be able to grow apples,” he said.

King is worried about what would happen if the program were to end. 

President Donald Trump’s administration has ramped up immigration enforcement and deportations of non-citizens nationwide, but the president has said he’s open to options when it comes to farm workers. 

Federal officials are also considering restructuring the H-2A program, including the formula for setting temporary workers’ wages. 

“We’re taking care of our farmers,” Trump said in an August interview with CNBC. “We can’t let our farmers not have anybody. These people…you can’t replace them very easily.” 

Farm law in flux

State officials have also prioritized specialty crop protections in the next farm bill, a massive, multibillion-dollar act that sets farm policy and funds a wide array of agricultural supports and nutrition programs. 

The law is typically rewritten every five years, though the last version was signed in 2018 and was extended to expire on Sept. 30. 

Farmers growing specialty crops historically hadn’t been eligible for the same support as staple crops, such as crop insurance or federal grant funding, but they were included in recent farm bills. Michigan farmers are hoping that continues. 

Boring, the state agriculture director, told members of the US House Agriculture Committee this week that “the future has never been more fragile” for specialty crop growers.

“Whether it’s due to trade pressures, market access challenges, rising input costs, climate variability, labor constraints, and threats of pests and disease — many specialty crops in this country are either harder to grow, more difficult to get to markets, or as challenging as ever to access for the consumer,” he said.

Republish This Story

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under our Republication Guidelines. Questions? Email republishing@bridgemi.com