Grain farmer ‘racing against time’ to avoid potential Trump tariffs

Tariff threats constantly change the Trump administration have caused some companies to begin to send their products to the US.

That includes the grain farmer Landon Friesen, co -owner of Southman Ag Ventures. Its facilities are based on Crystal City, a small community from Manitoba less than 200 kilometers southwest of Winnipeg.

As its farm is only one hour by car from an agricultural terminal in Langdon, ND, Frieen has regularly sold grains like wheat directly to US clients.

In general, wheat harvested in autumn will be carried out in Canadian Silos for months and is transported during most winter to the United States.

Not this year. Friese says that the work that would normally be extended “in a few months” is now being done in two months.

“It has been an occupied season of pressing no matter how much we can before we can before the potential rate. We do not know if it will [Donald Trump] Extend it again or if this is going to be, “he said.

In a moment, I was making the trip through the border three times a day.

Friese and industry groups say that the proposed tariffs would probably reduce the price that Americans are willing or can pay for Canadian agricultural products.

Friese expects a 25 percent tariff to remove at least so much from the price he obtains for his grains. When moving it through the border now, avoid risking that loss.

“Our result is not large enough to absorb that,” he said, noting that his total wheat harvest this year goes to North Dakota. It has 230 loads to transport, and CBC News rode along with it and No. 228.

That compares with the same time in 2024, when Friese says that he had only taken 15 to 20 percent of his wheat through the border.

“The grain will not go wrong, but our markets will close, or the rate will damage the markets. And that is what we are running against time,” he said.

It is not clear how much grain is crossing the border earlier this year. In 2023, Canada exported more than $ 1 billion of wheat to the United States

CHS, the terminal operator in Langdon, says he is closely monitoring imminent tariffs and will work to guarantee access to global trade routes for US farmers.

“The situation is fluid and we are focused on continuing to serve our customers better,” wrote a company representative in an email.

The markets will go back

Lower prices would be expected for the Canadian grain in case of tariffs, according to JP Gervais, chief economist of Farm Credit Canada.

While initially, tariffs would make American buyers in front of a higher price for the Canadian grain, Gervais says that they are less likely to want to pay that.

“The markets will delay the highest price in the US.

Gervais says that it is very difficult to predict what will come for Canadian farmers, however, because other countries come into play.

In particular, trade between China and the United States and Canada will affect the prices that Canadian farmers can demand in international markets because China is a “great player” in basic products.

He says that Canadian farmers can not only change who they sell and where without incurring costs.

“The fact is that diversification and all impacts will increase the costs of doing business for Canadian companies, and that will have an impact for Canadian consumers,” he said.

Friese says that, despite the additional work, his team is putting, he understands and respects US political decisions.

“I mean, these are our neighbors to the south. We have made life with them, right? We don’t have a great border wall. There has always been much respect for each other,” he said.

He also said that he knows that tariffs could harm the industry in Canada, along with the increase in consumer costs as well. But as someone who has lived near the United States border for years, awaits a friendly solution.

“We all need to get along. We can’t pick up and move.”