Louisiana farmers are having a tough time making ends meet and the trade war with China is not helping. The Trump Administration's Sunday announcement of a new round of tariffs will hit farmers especially hard.
According to WWL-TV until recently China was the states top export market. The precipitous drop of 61% resulted in billions of dollars lost.
Overproduction of wheat, corn, and soybeans has driven down prices. Bad weather and crop diseases have caused many farmers to switch over to growing sugar cane.
Carl Newton is one local farmer struggling to stay ahead as the trade war worsens. "If you're in the export market in agriculture, you have to deal with geopolitical risk and the tariffs with China is a perfect example of that. I don't know how to manage that. You just hold on a muddle through and hope things get better."
Planting sugar cane represents a lower risk for farmers. Cane sugar thrives in the climate.