18) per bushel in 1980 to $2.32 ($6.91 in 2018) per bushel in 1982 according to the USDA NASS.
“Farmers lobbied extensively for the 1981 farm bill,” says Glauber. “Farmers wanted to have some type of compensation when there’s a grain embargo. Congress did pass a few things to help producers, but when the embargo went in place there were substantial price declines.”
The 1980 election was the turning point for the embargo as Republican nominee Ronald Reagan promised to end the ban, while President Carter did not want to do so. With most Midwest farmers angry at Carter, Reagan made a clean sweep of the Corn Belt states and won the election.
Farmers were hopeful Reagan would keep his promise in ending the embargo and he did so on April 24, 1981. Reagan continued to be favored by U.S. farmers by signing the most expensive farm bill at the time at $52 million.
Reagan designed the bill for farming to become more market oriented and less tied to the hands of government. The same year, Reagan imposed tariffs of 100% on Japanese products, including color televisions, computers, and hand power tools.
Although Reagan’s tariffs were successful and didn’t have a large effect on U.S. agricultural exports, both Reagan’s and Trump’s tariffs are similar in defending and demanding fair trade agreements with foreign allies.
When Trump proposed the 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports in March, China retaliated, particularly targeting American soybeans whose producers count on China for more than half of their sales. China’s 25% tariffs on agricultural goods, including U.S. soybeans, beef, pork, and 100 other products, will not take effect until after May 11 and could take up to 180 days for a final decision with negotiations by the Trump administration.
“There’s no doubt a lot of people are very nervous about this much like they were in the 1970s and again in 1980,” says Glauber. “If you were to talk to any older farmer, most of them would remember the Soviet Union grain embargo very well and its effects on the farm crisis in the 80s.”
Sheldon says the Trump administration is pushing hard on the current trade deals but needs to think through the effects on other parts of the economy.
“It’s going to put a lot of pressure on farm incomes,” says Sheldon. “Farming is already under pressure with low grain prices and the instability for farmers to maintain a sufficient income.”