Farmers Affected By Weather, Worried About Tariffs

(ONN) – Both weather and tariffs are causing headaches for Ohio farmers this spring.

Steady rains have prevented farmers from planting corn and soybeans.

As of May 5th, 2 percent of corn and 1 percent of soybeans were planted statewide, well below the average of 27 percent of corn and 9 percent of soybeans planted by the same date last year.

While farmers wait to get in their fields, they are a captive audience to volatile trade negotiations with China, which is usually the top market for soybeans, Ohio’s largest and most-valuable crop.

At midnight Friday, the Trump administration raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, escalating a trade battle.