China Plows Ahead With Modern Farming as U.S. Tariffs Raise Costs

China Plows Ahead With Modern Farming as American Tariffs Drive Up Crop Costs

The trade fight gives Beijing fresh incentive to beef up a sector dominated by small farms with low crop yields

YANGXIN COUNTY, China—To keep bugs from spoiling her wheat and corn, Wei Junxia walks her plot of land spraying pesticide from a container on her back.

A neighbor uses an even simpler tool to boost production: a plastic tube jammed into a bag of fertilizer that she hoists over her shoulder.

The two women are among roughly 280 million people...