美国国家公共电台 NPR Caught Between Trump's Tariffs And Tax Changes, Soybean Farmers Face Uncertain Future

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Across the Midwest, it's grain harvesting time. And this year, there are three big problems. One is wet fields, two, low crop prices exacerbated¹ by a trade war that decimated the Chinese market for soybeans, and third, some twists from the new tax law. Amy Mayer reports from Iowa Public Radio.

AMY MAYER, BYLINE²: As Branon Osmundson harvests soybeans in Randall, Iowa, the combine's blades cut the stems, pods are pulled apart and the hard, yellow beans fill the hopper. Osmundson's cousin pulls a matching red tractor up alongside, positioning the attached grain cart to catch the beans as they're augured⁴ out of the combine.

(SOUNDBITE OF SOYBEANS FILLING GRAIN CART)

MAYER: The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts a record soybean harvest this year. But China, once a major market for soybeans, imposed a 25 percent tariff⁵, slashing⁶ imports. That knocked $2 a bushel off the price Osmundson will get, costing him tens of thousands of dollars.

BRANON OSMUNDSON: It's one more thing that we have pretty much no control over, it seems like, that affects us greatly. So I guess we're just kind of rolling with the punches here on this.

MAYER: And the punches keep coming this year. Besides the tariffs⁷, persistent⁸ rain pushed harvest back by weeks. And there's the new tax law that could have a big effect on farmers who sell their crops to the local grain cooperative. Iowa State University ag economist⁹ Keri Jacobs says the law's changes make who to sell to a dicier proposition.

KERI JACOBS: That's what's hard to nail down. And that's where farmers are in their marketing¹⁰ decision process at this point.

MAYER: For example, a farm with lots of employees might be better off selling to a private ethanol plant. But one with no employees might benefit from joining a co-op. Mike Helland, who farms near Huxley, Iowa, serves on the board of Heartland Co-Op. He says even though he's been paying close attention, he still doesn't understand how the changes will affect his bottom line.

MIKE HELLAND: I've contacted my accountant about it. And he's still going to school and learning about it. So he didn't feel comfortable, at this point, advising.

MAYER: For now, Helland's more concerned with bringing in his crop.

HELLAND: Most of us will be glad when this year's just over.

MAYER: The agriculture department promised farmers $12 billion to help offset¹¹ the tariff impact. But Osmundson says that's not a real fix.

OSMUNDSON: But we are in an election year, so I figured there would probably be something like that coming out.

(SOUNDBITE OF HOPPER CRANKING OPEN)

MAYER: At the Key Co-op elevator in Roland, Iowa, Steve Webb cranks open the hopper on a semi to let soybeans cascade¹² into a pit. From there, they'll be conveyed to a nearby storage bin³. Iowa State ag economist Chad Hart says higher prices are on the horizon.

CHAD HART: And so as we look out into the spring of 2019, we do see some reasonable prices out there. But that means we're going to have to hold this crop for six, seven months to get there.

MAYER: And with all the rain, some elevators are storing soybeans that can't sit that long. Meanwhile, Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia and even Argentina have stepped in to buy U.S. soybeans.

HART: China went and bought a lot of beans from Argentina, left them a bit too short. They had to come into the world market. They bought some from us. And so you're seeing some really interesting trade flows.

MAYER: But still about 200 million bushels that would have gone to China need to find another customer. On dry days, farmers are razor-focused on just getting in this late crop. But with tariffs, taxes and quality to worry about, this nerve-racking season isn't going to end when the last beans hit the bin. For NPR News, I'm Amy Mayer in Ames, Iowa.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRACE BUNDY'S "TIMEPIECE")

KING: Amy's story came to us from Harvest Public Media. It's a station collaboration¹³ reporting on food and agriculture.

1 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 augured   

v.预示，预兆，预言( augur的过去式和过去分词 )；成为预兆；占卜

参考例句：

• The press saw the event as a straw in the wind that augured the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 报界把这件事看作是两国之间即将恢复邦交的预兆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This augured disaster for 1945. 这就预示1945年要发生灾难。 来自互联网

5 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

6 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

7 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

8 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

10 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

11 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

12 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

13 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。