Farmer who voted for Trump talks about impact of high costs of Iran war, tariffs: “We’re all just in survival mode”
North Carolina Farmer Faces Mounting Costs From Fuel, Fertizer and Tariffs
Wertynews.com – For Matt Bell, a 52-year-old farmer near Kings Mountain, North Carolina, the financial pressure on agriculture is no longer theoretical. Bell farms more than 1,000 acres, producing soybeans, corn and wheat while also raising beef cattle. After 34 years in the business, he says the past year has brought a level of uncertainty he has never experienced.
“I've done this 34 years. I have never worried and stressed like I have the last year.”
Bell voted for President Trump and initially supported the administration’s approach, including the view that temporary economic pain from the conflict with Iran could be justified by preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But the prolonged strain of the war, combined with tariffs and retaliatory trade measures, has changed his assessment of how the policies are affecting rural businesses.
Diesel Has Become a Central Problem
Fuel is among the most immediate challenges. Farm machinery depends on diesel, from tractors and trucks to the combine used during harvest. Bell says his diesel expenses have roughly doubled from a year earlier, leaving him unable to avoid a cost that is essential to keeping the farm working.
AAA’s national diesel average stood near $6.40 per gallon, almost twice the average from the previous year. In North Carolina, the statewide diesel average reached a record $6.19 per gallon on Thursday. For farms operating across large acreage, changes of even a few cents per gallon can quickly affect seasonal budgets.
Bell said prices have moved so rapidly that a distributor’s morning quote may no longer apply by the afternoon. His combine now consumes about $600 in diesel each day, more than double its daily fuel cost last year. The farm’s annual fuel budget of $35,000 was exhausted in August, and Bell expects the final yearly amount to land between $50,000 and $60,000.
“Every piece of equipment on this farm runs on diesel.”
Without fuel, planting, harvesting, transporting crops and caring for livestock become impossible. That leaves farmers with little room to reduce spending when energy costs rise.
Conflict Abroad Adds Pressure at Home
The war with Iran has contributed to higher fuel prices and supply-chain disruption. A naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has restricted the number of oil tankers moving through one of the world’s most important shipping corridors. At the same time, fighting involving Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, along with attacks by other Iranian proxy forces on Saudi infrastructure, has put further pressure on energy supplies linked to the Red Sea.
Oil markets have also faced constraints from the continuing fighting between Russia and Ukraine, which has limited refining capacity. Those overlapping disruptions can filter down to businesses far from the conflict zones. For farmers, the effect is visible in fuel invoices, transportation costs and the price of goods needed to grow a crop.
Tariffs Add to Production Costs
Bell says diesel is only one part of the problem. Fertilizer, chemicals, seed, equipment parts and other inputs have become more expensive as broad tariff policies affect farm supply chains. A farm may be able to postpone replacing a machine or repair an older part, but it cannot eliminate all spending on the materials required for a growing season.
“We've cut everything we can cut.”
Bell has already changed how he operates. He is shifting some acreage, extending the useful life of equipment and making his own fertilizer. His children have added another income stream by opening a storefront where visitors can pick pumpkins and take fall hayrides. These measures may help diversify the family operation, but they have not erased the higher costs of core farm work.
“You cannot run without fuel. You cannot run without fertilizer. You have to have that.”
The pressure extends beyond expenses. American soybean growers had welcomed Trump’s May announcement of an agreement for China to purchase 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually through 2028. China has bought substantially more U.S. soybeans in 2026 than it did in 2025. Yet China’s 10% retaliatory tariff on American soybeans remains in effect.
The tariff was imposed in response to Trump’s fentanyl-related tariffs on China. Bell says the continuing levy has left soybean producers in an uncertain market: the prices paid for U.S. soybeans have not risen in step with the cost of producing them. Before Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, the American Soybean Association urged the president to seek removal of the 10% tariff.
A Farm Economy With Few Remaining Cuts
Bell’s concerns reflect a difficult calculation for operations that must buy supplies months before they know what crop prices and fuel bills will ultimately be. Farmers can make operational changes, pursue supplemental revenue and delay purchases, but many costs remain fixed by the practical demands of agriculture.
Bell said he once believed the administration’s strategy could be endured if it produced a clear result. He now argues that the country is being kept in a prolonged period of uncertainty.
“We're just being strung along as a country and that's not good.”
For Bell, the question is no longer merely whether the farm can endure a single expensive season. It is whether costs, trade barriers and unstable fuel markets will allow producers to make plans for the next one. He says some fellow farmers are considering leaving the business after this growing season ends, a sign of how deeply the current pressure is being felt across agricultural communities.
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