State Ag Producers Not Clear of the Effect U.S. Supreme Court's Decision on Tariffs Will Have on the Industry

Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 -- 12:00 PM

(Hope Kirwan, Wisconsin Public Radio) The President’s frequent use of tariffs over the last year has created plenty of economic uncertainty affecting Wisconsin farmers.

But, according to Hope Kirwan with the Wisconsin Public Radio, producers in the state say it’s not clear what the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the tariff policy will mean for them in coming months.

The court ruled Friday that a law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to impose tariffs, making the President’s tariff policies over the last year unconstitutional.

The President said the decision is “deeply disappointing” and called the justices who opposed his tariffs “fools” and “lapdogs,” according to NPR. But the President said he was not giving up on his agenda.

He laid out several alternative pathways for him to continue his use of tariffs when speaking to reporters on Friday. Luke Goessling grows corn and soybeans near Whitewater. He thinks the president’s use of tariffs have helped “level the playing field” for American farmers.

“I’m not saying that they’re all perfect, but I think we have a lot of pieces that are working well,” Goessling said. “So if it’s struck down and he can’t quite do some of the tactics that he’s looking to do with that, that might hurt some of the negotiations that might be already happening.”

Goessling acknowledged that farmers have felt the impact of tariffs on imported supplies like equipment and fertilizer. But he thinks losing the president’s tariffs could hurt America’s ability to negotiate better trade deals to make up for the increases.

“If our inputs have gone up 10 or 15 percent and we didn’t gain that in the market to get it back, we could still be losing money and still have a negative impact,” he said.

Scott Simons, president of the Walworth County Farm Bureau, said many farmers he knows have held off on spending on fertilizer and other inputs for the spring until they know what price they’ll be able to get for this year’s crops.

But he doubts fertilizer companies will lower their prices just because the tariffs are gone. “They’ll just put it in their pocket,” said Simons, who grows corn, soybeans and hay. “Until the producers say we’re not buying it, nothing’s going to change.”

Some Wisconsin farmers feel that getting back to unencumbered trade is the best path forward. Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, thinks ending the tariffs will not only be good for farmers but for the average consumer, who ends up paying the added tax on most products.

But Von Ruden said it doesn’t guarantee overseas buyers will come back to American crops and other products. “Even though there’s not the tariffs there, those markets are going to have to be worked to get back into and so that really puts the farmers at a disadvantage,” he said.

Von Ruden said farmers will be watching to see how the Supreme Court’s decision impacts future prices for crops in the coming days.

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