For the farmers, the changing market share dynamics isn’t personal, it’s just business, according to Ryan Loy, assistant professor and extension economist for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.Soybeans accounted for nearly 20% of the U.S.’s cash crop receipts in 2024, raking in $46.8 billion, according to data from the USDA. About one quarter of all soybean exports from the U.S. go to China, but retaliatory tariffs from China as a result of the ongoing trade war—which have reached 34%—have ...

A sharp drop in U.S. soybean exports to China could impact more than just farmers — it may soon begin putting pressure on trucking jobs, rail shipments, and port operations across the country. Once America’s top soybean customer, China has drastically cut back purchases in favor of South American suppliers. With fewer soybeans slated to move overseas, freight demand could plummet — and so could jobs. “Yes, it’s going to have a real impact on them,” Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transporta ...

“Right now we’re planting a crop that looks like it will be produced at a loss,” he told CNN. “By fall, when the soybeans are harvested and ready to sell, we’re gonna need a drastic improvement in our markets or it’s gonna get even tougher for farm families all across this country.”Current soybean futures prices reflect the uncertainty, trading around $10.10 per bushel for September contracts—well below estimated production costs of approximately $11.03 per bushel. Ragland’s own farm is currently generating ...