Although soybeans from last year's harvest will still be sitting in storage when the next harvest season begins, Reuters reports that American farmers are still betting on the crops they cannot sell because of Trump's trade war with China.
China purchased up to 60 percent of all American-grown soybeans before Trump launched his trade war and Chinese importers have not resumed purchases, but farmers say they're still betting on the beans with a near-record crop.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. farmers are gearing up to plant what could be their third-largest soybean crop ever despite failing to sell a mountain of beans from their last harvest due to a U.S.-China trade war that remains unresolved. [...]
As winter ends and farmers begin planting, they will continue to plant soy despite uncertainty over whether they will be able to sell beans to China later this year. There are simply no better options, farmers say.
“It is tough to rotate out of soybeans because what else are you going to plant?” said Darin Anderson, a 41-year-old farmer from Valley City, North Dakota.
One alternative, sorghum, was also dragged into the trade war.
Now that we know Trump won't meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping until late next month if ever does, I think we can presume that we'll be well into the growing season before a trade deal is hashed out if one ever is. And even if a deal is signed in the near future, it may not hit the books immediately or even this year.
I believe we'll be referring back to this story in the coming months and even during the presidential campaign season because this is a disaster waiting to happen. This could be an even worse year for farmers than last year was if Trump continues to sputter.