By Blake Jackson
Missouri farmers are feeling the sting of U.S. tariff measures and China’s halt on soybean purchases, a combination threatening billions in export revenue and putting immense pressure on the state’s agricultural economy.
Since April 2, the “Liberation Day” and imposed sweeping tariffs, industries across America have been scrambling to adapt and Missouri’s farming sector is no exception. Soybeans, the state’s top agricultural product, generated nearly $2.9 billion last year, ranking sixth nationally. But the ongoing trade dispute with China, once the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, has caused exports and prices to plummet.
Bryant Kagay of Kagay Farms in Maysville said he has seen a “significant” decline in soybean prices. “Over the past several months, there's been a pretty good decline through the growing season for the expected cash price of soybeans,” Kagay said.
In 2024, the U.S. sold more than $12.6 billion worth of soybeans to China, representing over half of total U.S. soybean exports, according to the USDA. But after a series of tariff escalations some reaching 125% and China’s retaliatory halt on soybean purchases, farmers are now caught in the middle of a volatile trade war.
“Trade wars are harmful to everyone, and these latest developments are deeply disappointing at a moment when soybean farmers are facing an ever-growing financial crisis,” said Caleb Ragland, president of the American Soybean Association.
Soybean prices have dropped to around $10 per bushel, down from $13 in December 2023. “The fact that China is not buying soybeans now has been a very big negative for the market,” said Pat Westhoff, director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri.
Experts suggest that expanding the biofuel industry could help strengthen domestic demand for soybeans and corn. However, without long-term solutions, many producers fear uncertainty ahead.
“I think they just ultimately cause inflation,” Kagay said of federal aid packages. “It just kind of kicks the can down the road.”
Photo Credit: istock-ds70
Categories: Missouri, Crops, Soybeans, Government & Policy