WRAL: “President Donald Trump’s trade war is rippling through the U.S. agriculture industry, and North Carolina farmers say they’re feeling the impact.”
New reporting from WRAL shows just how much North Carolina families and farmers are feeling the pain of the chaotic trade war, championed by DC insider Michael Whatley. Even as tariffs drive up costs, Whatley has called them “record setting in terms of […] effectiveness” and has supported them “wholeheartedly.”
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WRAL: North Carolina soybean farmers face financial crisis amid trade war and China boycott
October 7, 2025
- President Donald Trump’s trade war is rippling through the U.S. agriculture industry, and the impact is being felt especially hard in North Carolina.
- Ten to 20 years ago, when tobacco sales began to decline, many farmers in the state switched to soybeans. Today, soybeans are among North Carolina’s biggest cash crops, and one of the hardest hit by new tariffs and trade tensions.
- At the heart of a soybean field, Lorenda Overman feels right at home.
- Her husband’s family has been farming there for generations. But this year has brought new challenges.
- “I’ve not seen this level of concern in agriculture in a long time,” Overman said.
- Rising costs on things like seed, fertilizer, and even farm equipment, all tied to tariffs, are squeezing farmers’ budgets. Overman says she and her husband aren’t sure how they’ll repay the annual loans they rely on to start each growing season.
- “We don’t sleep some nights … worried about how we’re going to figure out how to pay that loan back and pay our bills,” she said.
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