TARIFF REPORT: GOP Candidate-Backed Tariffs Rattle Kansas Agriculture as Costs Rise Across the State
As tariffs squeeze Kansas farmers and businesses, Republican gubernatorial candidates continue to back the policies hurting the state’s agricultural economy
New reporting this week highlights how tariffs are forcing farm closures across Kansas, raising fuel costs for farmers, and creating uncertainty for businesses trying to plan ahead. But instead of standing up for Kansas producers, Republican candidates running for governor continue to back disastrous Washington trade policies devastating the state’s agricultural economy.
Here’s what Kansans learned this week:
TARIFFS LINKED TO KANSAS FARM CLOSURES
According to reporting from High Plains Public Radio, Kansas farm advocates say tariffs increased equipment costs and drove down crop prices, contributing to hundreds of farm closures across the state.
Farmers reported being squeezed by higher input costs and falling commodity prices — a double hit that has pushed many Kansas operations to the brink.
KANSAS FARMERS BRACE FOR HIGHER COSTS AMID GLOBAL INSTABILITY
Kansas farmers are facing rising costs amid global instability. Adam Baldwin, a farmer in McPherson, told KWCH that fertilizer prices have climbed since the war began and are rising faster than grain prices: “There’s a lot of volatility risk in the fertilizer market, and there’s more volatility risk in the fertilizer market than the grain prices right now are able to make up for.”
Farmers are already seeing sharp increases in diesel and fertilizer costs, which could significantly raise operating expenses heading into the growing season. Higher fuel and supply costs could make it even harder for farmers who are already struggling thanks to volatile markets.
SMALL BUSINESSES WARN TARIFFS ARE CAUSING “DISRUPTION AND UNCERTAINTY”
Small business owners are slamming the chaotic tariff policies coming out of Washington – with two local entrepreneurs saying that the “back-and-forth over tariffs has disrupted planning, threatened margins and, at one point, nearly forced one of them to shut down entirely.”
Kansas small business owners are now forced to pay higher costs for imported materials and supplies. Business owners say the unpredictable nature of tariffs makes it difficult to plan investments, hire workers, or expand their operations.
MIDWEST GAS PRICES EXPECTED TO CLIMB
New reporting warns that tariffs and energy market disruptions could drive gasoline prices higher across the Midwest at a time when families are already being squeezed by high costs.
KANSAS DRIVERS ALREADY SEEING HIGHER PRICES AT THE PUMP
Recent fuel price data confirms gas prices in Kansas have already been rising in recent weeks, up over 50 cents in the last month.