American tariff threat on minds of Sask. farmers finalizing seeding plans

WATCH: The threat of American tariffs is weighing on the minds of Sask. farmers as they finalize spring seeding decisions. Wayne Mantyka explains.

As Saskatchewan farmers finalize spring seeding plans the ongoing threat of American tariffs is adding an unwelcome layer of uncertainty to an already-risky business.

If President Donald Trump imposes a sweeping 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods imported into the U.S., Saskatchewan producers may have to choose what they grow very carefully.

A growing list of farmers are concerned how U.S. tariffs could impact their ability to sell crops this year.

Anisten Thom, who farms with her family in southeastern Saskatchewan, said the threat of a tariff on all Canadian goods has created a lot of uncertainty.

“Just mainly how the market is going to be affected and just how it’s going to look and how it’s going to be difficult to continue producing with the prices continuously dropping, and now we don’t know what exports are going to look like and it’s kind of going to be a struggle on both ends,” Thom said.

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Carl Potts, the executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, said the U.S. is the third largest market for Canada’s pulse crops.

“A lot of our exports of pulses go to countries like India and China and our third largest market is the U.S., so for the past 10 years or so we’ve faced tariffs into India. Sometimes they’ve been on, sometimes they’ve been off,” Potts said.

The Saskatchewan NDP attended a pulse growers meeting in Regina Thursday hoping to gather information for Canada’s response should the new tariffs be implemented.

“There’s no doubt that [if] these tariffs, or any amount of tariffs were to come into place, there would be very difficult impacts for people right across the province. We are concerned about all of them,” NDP leader Carla Beck said.

Currently, many producers are staying the course with respect to spring seeding plans, expecting new markets to open should others close.