Just like South Dakota’s beleaguered farmers, North Dakota soybean producers are about to get beat up by Trump’s reckless trade war:
In response to U.S. tariffs, China is no longer buying soybeans, leaving farmers in limbo as harvest season comes.
…According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, China historically has been the largest buyer for North Dakota soybeans; the state exported over 70% of the crop to China before President Trump unveiled this year’s tariffs.
Last year, soybeans sold for $12, but are now selling for $10. [ND soybeaner Mike] Appert doesn’t want to sell them at such a low price, and said that this year poses a unique challenge.
“We always have future uncertainty. We never know what the future prices are going to be, but we can manage that. The tariffs situation is a little harder for us because you can’t hedge that or manage that,” said Appert.
…Appert will start harvesting in two weeks, and said there are no sales on the books. He anticipates a bottleneck at harvest, with weak basis prices and limited options for selling the crop [Michelle Tom, “Tariffs Leave North Dakota’s Top Crop Without Its Biggest Buyer,” KFYR-TV, 2025.09.17].
Farmers may be hoping that Trump will throw them bribes the way he did last time his tariffs tanked farm profits, but that money isn’t in the pipeline yet, and it won’t make farmers whole:
Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring tells us that, from conversations with federal leaders, he’s expecting new subsidies will be out by the end of the year, but doesn’t anticipate they will help farmers break even [Tom, 2025.09.17].
Donald Trump leaving the people who deliver for him out in the cold… hmmm, where have we heard that before?