Controlling what you can control

March 20, 2025 | Jeff Hutton

From tariffs to retaliatory tariffs, trade instability, payments to farmers, USAID turmoil, pauses in export payments, the world of agriculture is well, uncertain.

But then again, the nature of farming, some Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) board members argue, will always be uncertain.

Managing the risks

For District 3 Board Member Amanda Tupper of Ionia, uncertainty is part of life.

“At this point, I will say I’m cautiously optimistic,” she says as she prepares for the upcoming growing season. “But we’re watching pretty closely what’s happening in Washington, D.C.”

Tupper says having some clear guidance on future economic assistance payments would be helpful, given where markets are prices are for soybeans.

“I would much rather have more market (opportunities) and higher prices, so those payments are not necessary,” she says.

Tupper says as with any given year, decisions today are based on what she and her family know now.

“We’re making decisions on the best information we have,” she says. “Right now, it looks like we’re going to plant more corn acres than soybeans.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a crystal ball to look at. But agriculture is a risky business anyway and I think we’re trying to put ourselves in a positive to best manage the risks.”

Avoid the doom and gloom

Tupper’s fellow board member – District 9’s Jeff Ellis from Donnellson, agrees.

“If you’re a farmer, you’ve got to be an optimist,” he says. “I think in the end, things will work out.”

That said, Ellis says politics and the chaos at the federal level are not ideal ways to begin any new growing season. He’s also frustrated with soybean marketing right now and lacks direction on carbon credits.

“Politics has always been chaotic,” he says. “It’s a little hard to understand, from a market standpoint, where is our bean marketing coming from – is it biofuels or not.

“If we go drastic and eliminate carbon credits, I don’t know what’s going to happen with the bean market.”

Ellis is looking at planting more corn and soybeans, based on what information he has now, but concedes, “You just don’t know. Where are the numbers going to be in three months?”

He says issues surrounding tariffs, while difficult to understand, day to day in D.C., are part of a bigger picture, including inflationary concerns.

“When it comes to every goods, in all honestly, you’re almost numb to inflation lately,” he says.

But Ellis refuses to get mired down in “all the doom and gloom.”

And that means continuing to push forward and focus on opening more markets around the world.

“I really have hopes that we can figure out this trade stuff,” he says. “We still have to trade, and we’ve got to keep on it. I think we’re at a point where things will soon fall in our favor.”

Block out the noise

ISA At-Large Board Member Aimee Bissell says staying focused is key, despite the tumultuous ongoings in Washington.

“Yes, we are living in a constant state of chaos,” she says, as she prepares for another growing season on her farm near Bedford.

‘But life is always full of uncertainties, whether it’s Mother Nature or the politization of agriculture.”

Bissell says chaos seems to be the norm because it creates uneasiness and undue stress.

“But we can only do what we can with the knowledge we have now,” she says. “You know, there’s a lot of noise out there, but you have to block it out sometimes.”

Bissell says she follows the same wisdom that has been imparted to her years ago.

“Know your numbers now, and operate your business according to that,” she says. “I was once told that it’s never as bad as it seems, and it’s never as good as it seems.”

She adds that as a farmer, “if I’m wrong or it doesn’t turn out the way I expected, I know I did the best I could at that time. I always write down why I made the decision I did and move on.”

Control what you can

Lee Brooke, like Bissell, Ellis and Tupper, is focused on the here and now, and doesn’t want to spend too much time getting caught up in the turmoil in D.C. and globally.

But …

“It’s a trying time for farmers," says Brooke, the current ISA board treasurer and a District 7 representative. “Is it more chaotic now? There’s always uncertainty that plays in a farmer’s livelihood. With everything that goes on in D.C., it just adds a new level of frustration.”

Like Ellis, Brooke says farmers and organizations like ISA must be vigilant in finding new markets for farmers to ship their products.

“We’ve got to find new markets,” he says. “That’s our job as a soybean association and it’s something we’ve got to focus on.”

Brooke says while he doesn’t get too distracted by what’s happening in Washington, D.C., he instead looks to what he knows he can work on at his farm.

“As a farmer, I’m always looking to find ways to cut costs,” he says. “We’ve seen our income go down and expenses go up, so I’m more focused on what I can do here.”

Brooke says the latest news that aid to farmers could be distributed in the near future, he knows there are critics who sling arrows at those out in the fields.

“Farmers are always at the front of the backlash of getting government money, but if (consumers) want cheap food, they need to help keep farmers in business,” he says.

Bottom line, no matter the chaos, no matter the turmoil and uncertainty, soybean farmers are a special breed of optimists, Brooke says.

“You have to be an optimist,” he says. “If you want to farm, it’s got to be in you, and I guess I’ve been able to do it for 44 years now. There’s a lot of turmoil in the world – you can only control what you can control.”

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