Tariffs could cost Nebraska ag producers $943 million in revenues in 2019, Nebraska Farm Bureau study says

Ongoing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agriculture exports could cost Nebraska producers $943 million in revenues in 2019, according to a new Nebraska Farm Bureau analysis released Tuesday morning.

The estimates incorporate the loss of foreign markets for Nebraska-produced soybeans, corn, pork, sorghum, wheat, alfalfa, dairy products and dried beans.That’s in addition to the 2018 losses of $695 million to $1.026 billion in farm level income estimated in a previous Nebraska Farm Bureau analysis released last December. That initial study and the new “Nebraska Farm and Ranch Losses from Retaliatory Tariffs 2019 Estimates” report were done by Nebraska Farm Bureau senior economist Jay Rempe. They provide an assessment of losses independent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Facilitation Program assistance to offset farmers’ trade-associated losses. “We appreciate the administration’s ongoing support for America’s farm and ranch families through MFP assistance,” said Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson of Axtell, “but this analysis shows just how critical it is that we resolve the prolonged trade conflicts that have created the tariff pressures.” The 2019 analysis used USDA data to estimate tariff-related losses on a statewide per-commodity basis and total commodity value losses per county...MORE