Why does Iowa farmer Ryan Marcord blame Trump's tariffs for his rising costs?

Ryan Marcord, vice president of the Iowa Farmers Union, told the BBC that Trump's tariffs, backed by Iowa's representatives, combined with diesel and fertiliser costs driven up by the Iran war, had cost him at least $8,000 to $9,000 before harvest was even finished. He said the bigger problem is unpredictability: tariffs going on and off, announced by social media post, make it hard to plan, keep trade relationships or hold prices steady.

• Marcord said no clear benefit from the tariff policy has proven itself for farmers so far.
• He added that local Democrats, more than federal candidates, had offered farmers a vision for the future.

▸In their words

“It's the death by a thousand cuts.” Ryan Marcord · at 16:58 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Global News Podcast (2026-11-04). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode