How Tariffs and China’s Global Investments are Reshaping Farming
Root River Current media partners to host a live virtual forum examining the impacts on U.S. farmers
UPPER MIDWEST—Soybeans and farmers who depend on export markets will be the focus of a live virtual panel discussion – open to the public – on Thursday, Feb. 19.
Co-hosted by the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk – one of Root River Current’s agri-news reporting partners – the panel will examine how China’s global investment strategy and renewed trade tensions are reshaping U.S. agriculture.
The discussion builds on recent investigative reporting by two other Ag & Water Desk newsrooms, Investigate Midwest and the Arkansas Times. Their reporting has documented the impacts of tariffs and trade wars on U.S. farmers in states across the Midwest, as well as China’s multi-million-dollar investment in ports and agricultural infrastructure across Latin America, including Brazil and Peru.
Midwest soybeans harvested near Mahomet, Illinois. ( Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk photo by Darrell Hoemann, Investigate Midwest)
“By the late 1980s, the United States was championing a global economic order built around freer trade, laying the groundwork for institutions like the World Trade Organization and for agreements meant to knit markets closer together,” said Mónica Cordero, one of the panelists and a reporter with Investigate Midwest and the Ag & Water Desk.
“Today, by raising tariffs on major trading partners,” according to Cordero, “Washington is moving in the opposite direction. And American agriculture is among the industries bearing the steepest costs.”
Last year, trade disruptions left many farmers navigating unsold grain, reduced cash flow and growing uncertainty about whether their operations could remain viable in a changing global market. (For more, read Root River Current’s Regional Soybean Production: Understanding What Happens When the Top Buyer Stops Buying.)
“America’s agricultural sector is undergoing a generational change due to the global trade war, and recent reporting has shown just how significant this change will be for many years to come,” said Ben Felder, editor-in-chief of Investigate Midwest. “There are few topics more important for farmers and the food system in general than this.”
Panelists for upcoming virtual panel. (Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk photo)
Confirmed panelists include:
- Mónica Cordero, data and investigative journalist, Investigate Midwest and Ag & Water Desk
- Phillip Powell, agriculture and environment reporter, Arkansas Times and Ag & Water Desk
- April Hemmes, Iowa soybean farmer, past United Soybean Board farmer-director
- Joanna Colussi, assistant professor of agricultural economics, Purdue University
- Jared Phillips, historian and farmer, University of Arkansas
- Ben Felder, Investigate Midwest, will moderate the discussion.
“We want this conversation to not only speak to the experience of farmers today but also look at the solutions being proposed to address these big problems,” said Lauren Cross, assistant editor and audience engagement manager at Investigate Midwest.
The panel is free and open to anyone interested (register here); it will feature a moderated discussion followed by audience Q&A with time reserved for submitted and live questions. Specific details and registration:
What: How tariffs and China’s global investment are reshaping Midwest farming.
Date: February 19, 2026
Time: Noon to 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Location: Virtual (by Zoom)
Registration: Eventbrite
Meet the panelists
April Hemmes, Upper Midwest (Iowa) farmer
April Hemmes is a fourth-generation soybean and corn farmer in north-central Iowa, where she farms land that has been in her family for more than a century. Based near Hampton, she grows soybeans and corn and has farmed full-time for decades, navigating market volatility, export demand and shifting trade dynamics firsthand. Hemmes served as a farmer-director on the United Soybean Board, where she has held leadership roles focused on domestic and international market development. A frequent speaker on agricultural trade and sustainability, she brings a producer’s perspective to discussions about how trade policy decisions affect U.S. farmers. She was named an Iowa Master Farmer in 2024.
Mónica Cordero, Investigate Midwest
Mónica Cordero is a data and investigative journalist at Investigate Midwest based in Iowa, and a member of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. Her recent reporting focuses on agricultural trade, farm economics and food supply chains, with particular attention to how global policy decisions affect farmers and rural communities. Cordero has led and contributed to investigations on China’s growing investment in Latin America, declining U.S. soybean exports and the ripple effects of trade policy across the Midwest, using data analysis and public records to connect developments in Brazil and South America to U.S. agriculture. She is a graduate of the University of Costa Rica and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
Dr. Joana Colussi, Purdue University
Dr. Joana Colussi is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. Her research addresses commercial agriculture and production economics, with a focus on technology adoption, farm management and international agriculture. She also works as an extension educator and has collaborated closely with key stakeholders in the U.S. Midwest, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Prior to joining the faculty at Purdue, Dr. Colussi worked as an instructor and extension educator, and previously as a postdoctoral researcher, in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Born and raised in Brazil, Colussi is recognized for her expert analysis of crop market trends in South America.
Phillip Powell, Arkansas Times
Phillip Powell is an agriculture and environment reporter at the Arkansas Times and a Report for America corps member based in Little Rock. His most recent reporting focuses on Arkansas agriculture, with particular attention to soybeans, trade policy and the economic pressures facing row-crop farmers in the Delta. Powell has closely covered the impacts of U.S.-China trade tensions, including how tariff escalations, shifting export markets and China’s growing reliance on South American suppliers have affected Arkansas farmers. Drawing on reporting from farm fields, state data and federal policy, he connects global trade decisions to their real-world consequences for producers across the state.
Dr. Jared Phillips, University of Arkansas
Jared Phillips is a writer and farmer with deep roots in the Arkansas hill country. He and his wife farm above the Muddy Fork of the Illinois River, relying on draft horses for their farm work. He’s a historian at the University of Arkansas where he teaches Ozark and rural history and is working on a history of the Ozark Organic Growers Association and the development of the USDA Organic program. In addition to his academic book Hipbillies: Deep Revolution in the Arkansas Ozarks, other work can be found in Front Porch Republic, Skipjack Review, the Arkansas Times and the Arkansas-Democrat Gazette.
Ben Felder, Investigate Midwest (Moderator)
Ben Felder is Investigate Midwest editor-in-chief. He was hired in 2023 to cover agribusiness and the meat industry in Oklahoma. Felder previously worked for The Oklahoman as a political enterprise reporter blending narrative storytelling, data analysis and investigative reporting to cover the state’s political leaders, the influences behind them, and their impact on everyday Oklahomans. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, and a graduate of Trevecca University in Nashville, Felder lives in Oklahoma City with his wife, Lori, and son, Satchel.
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation. Story edited by John Gaddo for Root River Current.
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