“This is a very bad time for agriculture.”

So says Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill after several days of back and forth on tariffs between the United States and China. He says “any potential for profit in 2018” was wiped out this week and it’s a “very scary” time for farmers — despite assurances from Trump Administration officials that this is just a negotiating phase.

Hill feels U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue needs to come up with way to shield farmers from the financial drag of these trade disputes, but Hill says that’s unlikely.