Trump tariffs may impact cost of locally grown produce
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — The executive director of an advocacy group for state farmers' markets said tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico by President Donald Trump on Tuesday may impact the cost of locally grown produce in West Virginia.
'Tariffs would increase cost on their feed, fertilizer, equipment, fuel,' said Holly Morgan, executive director of West Virginia Farmers Market Association, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. 'Any input cost that would go into producing your food would increase for your farmer too.'
West Virginia farmers struggled last year as a historic drought affected growing conditions.
'Losses from last year's drought, they aren't put to bed and done, yet,' Morgan added. 'Drought from last year will continue to affect farmers this year. Farmers have already faced higher prices and costs. The tariffs will affect them too.'
Tariffs may be used to force manufacturers in targeted countries to relocate to the U.S. and to boost domestic production, which may benefit steel, automobile and other U.S. industries. Economist's said the tariffs will likely raise Americans' yearly spending by $2,000.
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One drastic cost increase could occur on fresh fruits and vegetables, economists have predicted.
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that in 2022, 53 percent of imported fresh fruit came Canada and Mexico, while 89 percent of fresh vegetable imports were from the two countries.
Michelle Rotellini, CEO of the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, said that perishable food items such as fresh produce rely on a 'short and time-sensitive supply chain.'
'Unlike durable goods, perishable produce must move quickly from farms to shelves; meaning any disruption, either from cost increases or slowed imports, can have an immediate impact on availability and pricing,' said Rotellini. 'As consumers, we may see higher prices and reduced selection at grocery stores and restaurants in the short term, and restaurants that depend on fresh ingredients will feel the strain.'
Rotellini encouraged local residents to purchase from farmers' markets, noting that locally grown produce is only available in season.
Morgan said that eating 'in season' produce is the most natural diet and has benefits, but she emphasized that it is not 'cheaper' to buy fruit and vegetables from a local market.
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'The common misconception is you go to a Farmer's Market because it is a discount. Farmers are not bulk producing,' said Morgan. 'Farmers are not big corporations. Farmers have a smaller margin than a big box store to absorb these increased costs.'
Morgan added that farmers need additional support in 2025.
'Supporting your local farmers is going to be a good way to support local business, obviously, and keep farmers in business, because they had a hard year last year, and they needed our support then, and they definitely need it now,' she said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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San Francisco Chronicle
37 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
He took over a trans health nonprofit in California. Trump and Newsom made his job harder
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Not many things are just one thing to Coté, the 43-year-old therapist who somewhat reluctantly accepted the top job at the gender-affirming health provider in March 2024, eight months before Donald Trump reclaimed the White House with a campaign that vilified transgender people and immigrants. Less than five months into his second term as president, Trump has issued directives to strip transgender Americans of their health care, revoke housing and employment protections, ban them from military service and women's sports, and erase them from federal documents while penalizing the states that don't go along. Coté and his organization, which is emerging from a period of internal turmoil, are also contending with the prospect of debilitating state funding cuts as they swim against a national political backlash marshaled by a president who maintains that trans people simply do not exist. And yet. On a warm weekday afternoon at the beginning of Pride Month, the vibe inside the Gender Health Center was relaxed and happy, Coté's mood inviting and confident. He greeted a mother and adolescent child in the small lobby colorfully cluttered with wall art, queer media, encouraging sticky notes and a binder full of letters from past clients to new ones, letters that Coté still chokes up reading aloud. He showed off the cozy therapy wing, a lounge-y electrology studio, rooms and nooks where clients get blood panels done, pick up hormone kits and meet with a bubbly personal stylist, all for little to no money. He described an almost secret power — Coté called it 'magic' — within marginalized groups to create community in harsh conditions. Borrowing his mental health director's analogy, he compared it with composting, taking something discarded and — through the right amount of heat and movement — turning it into something that can grow new life. 'There's something that queer and trans people have figured out because we've had to. Because no one else was there,' he said. Thinking of the psychologically bruising politics and worsening national attitude, he added, 'There's also a responsibility to share that.' Journeys Coté came to the Gender Health Center around 2012, as a client. He was finishing up his master's degree in family therapy through the University of Oregon and eager to begin his medical transition. He paid out of pocket for several one-and-done consultations with primary care physicians but, not wanting to be someone's first trans patient, kept looking. One of the doctors referred him to the center, where a graduate student helped him get his paperwork to start hormone therapy. Facing a monthslong wait in Sacramento, Coté was able to fast-track the process by working with a nurse practitioner at the established Lyon Martin Community Health Services in San Francisco. But Sacramento was his home. And the scrappy, low-budget Gender Health Center had promise. Psychology student Danelle Saldana started the center in 2008 with $650 that she spent on incorporation fees, a telephone line and a post office box — alongside four volunteers who included her mother — tax records show. Saldana was moved and inspired by the people she met through her internship at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, said her mother, retired social worker Essie Saldana. 'She just worked tirelessly to put the foundation together,' Essie Saldana said. Danelle Saldana died in her sleep in January 2009. She was 30. The Gender Health Center opened the next year. It has never been a flush operation. Its 2023 revenue intake of $703,000 marked the lowest since 2015, a period that overlapped with the center churning through six executive directors in three years, none of whom earned more than $69,500 annually and most of whom made considerably less. 'It had its ups and downs,' said Essie Saldana, who sits on the board. 'We all come with our own brokenness and our own issues, and sometimes it doesn't always work out that you can keep those things outside of your workplace. So we did. We had some significant turnovers.' In 2022, two co-directors resigned amid accusations of financial mismanagement, which prompted a strike and crowdfunding campaign for five fired staffers. They were followed by an interim director and several months where the board ran the organization. Coté, who was in private practice and consulting the center on its mental health programming, heard rumblings that funders were getting nervous about the nonprofit's direction. He had turned down a leadership position before. But he also kept hearing from people in his everyday life how important the Gender Health Center had been to their journeys. It was important to his. And he saw it moving in a positive direction. 'So then I got asked again,' he recalled. 'I said, 'OK.'' Ebony Harper, who started her advocacy career at the Gender Health Center in 2016 and now co-chairs Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis' Transgender Advisory Council, praised Coté as 'one of the most grounded and visionary leaders I've worked alongside.' 'He's stepping into this role during a time of intense political pressure, statewide budget cuts, and escalating attacks on trans communities,' Harper said in a text message. 'And he's doing it with clarity, tenderness, and this powerful sense of responsibility to both healing and justice.' Coté said the Trump effect has manifested most noticeably in a dour pall. Parents are worried about their children's access to treatment and rushing the waitlist. Employees and clients are concerned the president's dehumanizing rhetoric will encourage anti-trans violence in the same way hate crimes soared against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities after Trump scapegoated China for COVID-19. 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'The state is pulling funding from programs that were already promised, already contracted, and already making an impact in our communities.' Coté said the Gender Health Center stands to lose $500,000 — almost half of its funding — imperiling a core mental health program serving nearly 200 clients with 80 more wait-listed. Coté joined a coalition of LGBTQ, immigrant and reproductive health advocates lobbying against the cuts. The Legislature approved a $325 billion budget Friday that restored the threatened programs and rejected other Newsom cuts, but continued a freeze on new Medi-Cal enrollments for undocumented adults. State lawmakers and Newsom have until July 1 to ink a final budget deal. If the Bay Area and Southern California have more established support infrastructures for trans, nonbinary and gender-expansive residents, Sacramento's Gender Health Center occupies more rarefied air. 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This is why many ultra-wealthy seniors rely on an army of tax accountants, wealth managers, lawyers, investment advisors and senior bankers to help them navigate this exclusive arena. Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now This tiny hot Costco item has skyrocketed 74% in price in under 2 years — but now the retail giant is restricting purchases. Here's how to buy the coveted asset in bulk Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? Like what you read? Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise straight to your inbox every week. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
