After raising tariffs as high as 145% earlier this year, the U.S. and China have paused further escalation until November. Still, American farm exports dropped from June 2024 to June 2025.
Despite new tariffs and ongoing trade negotiations, US beef imports from Brazil hit a record 197 million pounds in January 2025, up from 7 million in January 2020. JBS, the world’s largest meat company, helped power the surge as the US herd shrank.
The US hit a $24.5 billion farm trade deficit in just five months of 2025. With a federal court now weighing Trump’s tariff powers, the ag trade gap is under more scrutiny than ever.
BELZONI, Miss. — For Pepper Roberts, running a successful farm comes down to managing risk and planning for potential challenges.
While other farmers sold their crops last fall, Roberts used grain
