South Dakota farmers face weather delays as industry struggles under tariffs, low prices

GARRETSON-- Jim Solheim wanted to be in the fields, but instead he’s stuck inside, fixing equipment and making decisions that will greatly affect his family’s finances.

Gray clouds hung over the farm, still wet from the heavy dose of rain that passed through earlier in the day.

Sitting at the family’s kitchen table, Solheim walked through a list of the problems he had with the decision-makers in Washington D.C. and how they’ve treated farmers.

Immigration policies are hurting the farm industry’s workforce, he said. There’s been some progress on ethanol. But then there’s international trade, the tariffs and retaliation from some of the biggest buyers of South Dakota crops.

All of this was already hurting his farm and others. And then in blew Mother Nature.

“The number one problem for us now is the weather,” Solheim said. “The ground is so soaked up a little rain, even a tenth of an inch, will stop us.”

A particularly poor planting season is playing out across South Dakota as wet and cold weather adds to the already frustrating state of the agriculture industry, which has been beset by depressed markets for corn and soybeans, consecutive years of losses and recently the international trade disputes between President Donald Trump and foreign leaders.

The state’s farm economy is affecting farmers across the state, creating frustration and uncertainty and increasing the risk of some selling land, operations or leaving behind agriculture for retirement or other careers.

The Solheims expect to dip into their retirement nest-egg. They’re grateful just to have savings. Not all farmers have the luxury, said Virginia Solheim, Jim’s wife.

“You have to be smart and hang on to some money,” she said.

Farmers knew 2019 would be bad, but not this bad

Families who rely on South Dakota’s agricultural industry for a living entered 2019 expecting a depressed market.

Even before the trade disputes, corn prices were low due to an abundance of supply from past harvests and a ceiling on ethanol production from the federal government.

Heading into 2019, some farmers were wondering what the point was of getting crops in if they were going to lose money, said Corey Bauman, agronomy manager for the Deuel County Farmers Union Oil Co.

Then, things got worse.

What farmers across the state couldn’t have anticipated was the early spring floods, followed by continued cold and damp weather. Early flooding made chemicals and products more expensive as barges faced complications in bringing goods up the Mississippi River, said Bauman, whose company sells fertilizer and chemicals to farmers in Deuel and Brookings counties.

“And then it starts raining and here you sit," Bauman said. "You have to take what you bought, and only get half into the ground that you wanted.” 

Planting in South Dakota is significantly behind as farmers continue to struggle with flooded acreage. Prime corn planting runs from late April through the first week of May. But even as late as this week, only about 19 percent of the state’s corn has been planted, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By this point in the season, usually three-quarters of the state’s corn has been planted.

And the ongoing wet weather has delayed planting across the state’s crops. Just 4 percent of South Dakota’s soybeans have been planted, compared to a five-year average of 39 percent by now, and just 1 percent of sorghum crops have been planted, compared to a five-year average of 17 percent.

'Devastating' tariffs add to farmers' struggles 

Gov. Kristi Noem reached out to Trump this week, asking for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with flood damage in the state, including damage to farmland and livestock.

In February, she also voiced concern on behalf of farmers while speaking at an event sponsored by Politico. Noem told the national media her state had been “devastated by the trade wars that are going on.”

Trump has started to lift tariffs after approving a new trade deal with Canada and Mexico. It’s been a positive sign for some farmers of brighter days ahead, and it should provide real help for farmers who use steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico.

“That was causing our prices to go higher for anybody that wanted to build livestock facilities,” said Scott VanderWal, president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau.

But Trump’s tariffs have been a continued source of tension in South Dakota’s agricultural industry.

Tariffs on goods from trade partners in Asia and Europe have led to reactions from foreign governments in countries responsible for buying the bulk of South Dakota’s exports. Just this month, Trump imposed higher tariffs on Chinese goods, and China responded by putting new tariffs on 5,000 U.S. products.

Meanwhile, South Dakota’s congressional delegation asked the USDA this month for a better, more market-based agriculture relief program for farmers affected by Trump’s trade squabbles.

U.S. Sens John Thune and Mike Rounds signed the letter, along with U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson.

“Although a resolution to the trade dispute with China is our top priority, we write to express our support for equitable short-term economic relief for our agricultural producers,” Thune, Rounds and Johnson said in the letter.

All three also voiced support for Trump’s efforts to negotiate new trade deals, while also acknowledging what they described as “devastating” weather leading into the 2019 growing season.

“Producers are aware that China has taken advantage of U.S. innovation and technology far too long, and they are supportive of the Trump Administration’s efforts to strike a fair deal that increases market access for American agricultural products,” they said.

What does this mean for the future of S.D. farming?

All of it, the poor weather, ongoing trade disputes and low grain prices, eat into a farmer's margins, chipping away at families' bank accounts, said Chester farmer Keith Alverson.

“It’s something that feels like a big weight on your shoulders,” he said. “It’s one thing if you can actually get in and do what you want to do as a farmer, but then we’ve got the weather issues that bring all of our moods down.”

A third of his land is irrigated, so Alverson has had more luck getting corn planted, he said. He was at about 80 percent planted as of this week.

But he expects the continued stress of low prices and bad weather to leave its mark on South Dakota growers.

Some older farmers delayed retirement after the boom years of 2011 and 2012, but they are running out of reasons to stick around, Alverson said.

“We’re probably going to see some of the farmers that were at or near retirement maybe jump out a little bit sooner,” he said.

It’s also hard on younger farmers who are hoping build equity and looking at another year of non-existent profit margins.

Doug Sombke, president of the South Dakota Farmers Union, has three sons who work on his family’s farm. He’s worried about the next generation of farmers – those who are passionate about getting into agriculture but are facing the current economic climate.

“There’s some young guys that want to be in the farming business,” he said. “That’s the biggest challenge for what’s facing us is, how are going to keep these young guys?”