The U.S. and Canada are rapidly approaching a midnight Wednesday deadline for negotiations to avoid a 50 percent tariff on several Canadian imports into the U.S. Cameron Castillo, an associate economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, says the tariffs are set to be wide-ranging.

"About $20 billion worth of Canadian products on everything from alcohol to furniture to dairy products and even hockey sticks," Castillo said. "The reason for these tariffs are what the Trump administration has identified as some unfair trade barriers against American exports."

Castillo says there are some important exemptions, but the tariffs overall would be difficult for farmers and ranchers.

"These tariffs would not cover critical supplies such as potash or critical minerals from Canada," Castillo said. "But tariffs overall are generally not a good thing for the American farmer, and we could be put in a situation where, as a result of any sort of potential retaliation as a function of these 50 percent tariffs, the farm economy could be put into even a further pinch."

He said there is still time to come to an agreement, but discussions remain mostly private.

"Right now, folks have described the talks as very delicate, intense," Castillo said. "We don't know much about what's happening behind the scenes, but we hope that the U.S. and the Canadians can strike a deal because ultimately, the imposition of 50 percent tariffs could have some significant effects."