China, the top export market for the United States for soybeans, is not purchasing any of the crop from American farmers right now, leaving Minnesota producers uncertain about the future.
Minnesota’s 26,000 soybean farmers send 60% overseas and China is their top buyer, according to the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. It’s the number one agricultural export from the state.
Last year, China purchased $12.6 billion worth of soybeans from the U.S., federal data from the agriculture department shows.
As harvest season gets underway this year, the country’s orders are $0.
“Our main exporter, where we export our beans to, is kind of putting up a zero on the board, which is overall, not a great thing for our prices,” said Matt Purfeerst, a sixth-generation corn and soybean farmer in Faribault, Minnesota, where he grows 2,000 acres of soybeans alongside members of his family.
Purfeerst said Brazil and Argentina — where China has turned to this fall — are the top competition for American farmers like him and those markets are growing rapidly, outpacing what the U.S. produces.
“You just don’t want to lose that market share to them because they just continue to grow acres and grow good crops down there,” he said in an interview Monday.
Darin Johnson, president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, last month warned that the protracted trade dispute between the U.S. and China would put pressure and financial strain on farmers this harvest if the situation did not change.
He urged President Trump to take action and prioritize soybean producers.
“Unfortunately, we’re bearing a lot of this trade war,” he said.
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet The Press,” U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the Republican of South Dakota, said farmers would likely need an aid package from Congress as a result and that federal lawmakers could use funds collected from the tariffs to pay for the financial assistance.
Purfeerst said he prefers open markets to bailouts. And the strain comes as farmers are feeling the pinch from higher fertilizer prices on the front end, too.
“A bandaid is great, but you don’t want to impact or damage that relationship long term, whatever the long-term implications might be from losing that [market],” he explained.
But despite the uncertainty, he remains optimistic farmers will see a rebound.
“I think eventually it’s gonna come back. Now the question is, how long is that going to take? No one knows,” he said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, signed a proclamation Monday declaring this week “Soybean Week” to underscore the role these farmers play in the state’s economy.
The 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee took a swipe at Mr. Trump’s policies in a statement.
“They’ve produced a bumper crop this year, just to find out they have nowhere to sell their harvest thanks to Trump’s trade policies,” the governor said. “Minnesota’s got the best beans in the world – I encourage Minnesotans to stand with our farmers and continue to advocate for federal trade reform.”
Caroline Cummings
Caroline Cummings is an Emmy-winning reporter with a passion for covering politics, public policy and government. She is thrilled to join the WCCO team.
