China Bought $12.6B in U.S. Soybeans Last Year. Now, It's $0(nytimes.com)
nytimes.com
China Bought $12.6B in U.S. Soybeans Last Year. Now, It's $0
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/business/china-soybean-sales-farmers.html
7 comments
I'd love to know how many farmers actually planted soybeans this year. The commodity farmers in my area choose each spring whether the market looks better for corn or soybeans, and plant accordingly. It had been almost all soybeans for the last 3 years, and this year, I only saw one soybean field. Everyone else chose corn this year.
The standard corn/soy rotation is becoming more nuanced with more inputs to the decision-making process [1].
There was a fair amount of soy planted near me this year. They’re starting to drop leaves now; we’ll see how the harvesting goes. The fields I’ve seen up close lately have pretty healthy bean pods. We’ll probably have very good yields, which will be a real kick in the teeth for farmers if the market stays down.
[1] https://aces.illinois.edu/news/corn-after-soy-new-study-quan...
There was a fair amount of soy planted near me this year. They’re starting to drop leaves now; we’ll see how the harvesting goes. The fields I’ve seen up close lately have pretty healthy bean pods. We’ll probably have very good yields, which will be a real kick in the teeth for farmers if the market stays down.
[1] https://aces.illinois.edu/news/corn-after-soy-new-study-quan...
The benefit of living in a free country is that all these stats are available.
https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/countrysummary/Default.aspx?id=US&...
We'll see if the Trump USDA publishes this stuff next year.
https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/countrysummary/Default.aspx?id=US&...
We'll see if the Trump USDA publishes this stuff next year.
Yeah, that reports acreage and production (estimated), which isn't the same thing as "how many farmers?". It does confirm that soybeans are down farther than they have been in years. I'm sure the more granular data is there somewhere, but I poked around for a few minutes and did not find it. Ah, well. Thanks for trying.
The spice flow just reorganizes after these things happen.
2018: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/trade-di...
2018: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/trade-di...
Though I suppose if I were China and I was manipulating US leadership its what I'd have us do.