Geopolitical conflicts upend supply chains, raise input costs

Trump administration says plan to aid struggling farmers may come as soon as this week.

Tariffs and geopolitical conflicts have unraveled global supply chains, raising the cost of fertilizer and other farm inputs while also causing shipping delays and other bottlenecks.

Meanwhile, U.S. crop prices continue to be pressured by retaliatory tariffs and China's refusal to purchase soybeans from the United States, a panel of speakers said last week at the Chicago Federal Reserve's annual Midwest Agriculture Conference.

"Farmers are used to dealing with tariffs or dealing with high inputs and dealing with low prices - just not all at the same time, and it's all hitting us now," said April Hemmes, a Franklin County Farm Bureau member.

U.S. crop receipts are in the third year of a major downturn, plummeting by $71 billion in the last three years and putting margins below breakeven levels, said John Newton, head economist for Terrain, an offering of several Farm Credit Association banks.

"That's the largest three-year (decline) we've seen in...