Two big local farms — that primarily feed Minnesotans — are worried about staying afloat amid major uncertainty ahead.
WAVERLY, Minn. — At a time when uncertainty over global tariffs and trade are prompting more and more calls to buy local, growers of Minnesota produce — for Minnesota consumers — say the financial impact is inescapable.
“We need to get all of our tunnels covered, which is about 50 acres,” said Jenna Untied, who showed KARE 11 around Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm on Friday. “The plastic here comes from Canada, the clips and the rope that you see comes from England, and we’re currently waiting on a shipment. They can’t tell us where it is right now. It’s on it’s way to us but is in line for tariffs somewhere.”
Untiedt is the retail manager for her family’s 54-year-old vegetable farm, which supplies all of the sweet corn for the Minnesota State Fair. But she’s never seen a spring like this one, and she reached out to KARE11 in hopes of explaining how the global trade war is taking root right here.
“We had six phone calls Monday morning about tariffs affecting products we use on a daily basis and as much as we think we’re a local farm, we use products from around the world to bring our customers fresh and local goods,” she said. “We use soil to start all of our transplants that all comes from Canada, most fertilizers and chemicals that are used in agriculture, very little of it is produced within the United States. I was looking at seeds yesterday, and we get a good portion of our seeds from China too.”
And Untiedt’s isn’t alone.
“I’m a third-generation farmer,” said Brad Schmielewski, operations manager for Stoney Brook Farms in Foley.
Despite the Trump Administration’s announcement of a 90-day pause on some global tariffs this week, Schmielewski says uncertainty has already been priced into many items, like cardboard boxes, which are made in America but consist mainly of wood pulp from Canada.
“I spoke to our box supplier and prices are up 25 to 30%,” he said. “Doesn’t really matter if you order now or in 3 or 4 months, it just seems like this is the price this year and is what it is.”
And both farms say passing along those growing costs isn’t that simple.
“The wholesale markets actually dictate the price and you just kind of have to follow along or else not sell your product,” Schmielewski said. “You have two options there.”
It’s part of the reason why Stoney Brook has branched out over the years, into corn mazes and farm tours, while Untiedt’s has grown more flowers and opened more of their own markets.
“I looked at it 5 or 10 years ago and we were a lot more profitable than what we are now,” Schmielewski said. “You almost see your gross profit — your sales — go up, but the net profit keeps shrinking every year.”
And in a year when their crops face both uncertain growing conditions and uncertain global markets, they hope they’ll be able to count on local customers to come through.
“If you can support Fresh and Local, that’s really what we ask this year,” Untiedt said. “Because there’s gonna be a lot of farmers just hanging on by a thread this year with all the uncertainty we’re facing at this point in time.”
Beyond tariffs, both farmers say labor is a major concern right now. Their produce is largely planted, tended and harvested by hand and they can’t find enough help locally. Now, an ag visa program that helps supply seasonal workers is experiencing delays and it’s also grown 50% more expensive in the past four years.
