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Helpful or Harmful?
Despite the hardships and negative impacts, Skyles believes U. S. agricultural relationships abroad haven’ t been permanently damaged— at least not yet.
“ The October 30 China deal appears to be a really healthy agreement,” he says, though rebuilding momentum will take some time. Brazil was a big winner because it’ s a large soybean producer, and China shifted its purchasing there. But according to Skyles, it appears the U. S. has been“ able to salvage that.”
But when it comes to tariffs themselves, Skyles remains cautious. Still, he acknowledges the geopolitical reality: other nations have long imposed tariffs on U. S. goods while the U. S. played by different rules. Correcting that imbalance is and will be complex.
Ultimately, Skyles says it may take years to know whether the tariff strategy strengthens or weakens U. S. agriculture internationally. Unfortunately, in the short term, the burden falls on the farmers’ shoulders.
“ The challenge with the government is it’ s not incentivised to make good decisions,” he says.“ And unfortunately, there isn’ t a check and balance. So when they make policy, it’ s more for politics, and the farmers end up taking the hit.”
Lessons for the Future
To weather the future, Skyles believes farmers will need to shift their focus toward regional markets and diversify what they grow.
“ Smaller farmers need to think more locally and not globally,” he says.“ They need to ask,‘ What can I grow that serves my region?’”
He offers a few examples, such as onion growers in Idaho, barley malt operations serving microbreweries and large-scale organic garlic farms in Oregon.
“ The key is to find a niche,” he adds.“ Being creative and diversifying what they grow is what’ s going to save our farmers.” Another strategy Skyles strongly supports is cooperative processing, something his father championed decades ago.
“ Farmers should gather together, create co-ops and own the processing,” he says.“ Look at the Amish— they’ re basically coops. They work together, they sell their products together and they do very well.”
Skyles believes that co-ops could help small and mid-sized growers compete with major corporations and capture more value from the crops they already grow.
“ There’ s a growing tide towards buying fresh, local food when possible,” he adds.“ Farmers would be well served to lean into that. The farms that have, have done really well.”
Final Thoughts
Reflecting on the past year, Skyles is hopeful. Farmers, he says, have always lived close to the financial edge, but they also possess great resilience, ingenuity and a deep connection to the land.
“ Farmers are smart. They know how to grow crops and work the ground. My advice to them would be not to depend on the government to make good decisions on your behalf. Try to look past that and make the best decisions you can— look for alternatives, like co-ops and niche crops— I believe that’ s what’ s going to save farmers,” he concludes.
December 2025 | www. FarmersHotLine. com | 11