MAXWELL, Iowa — Iowa soybean farmers are finding themselves in the crossfire as trade tensions continue to rise between the United States and China.

Usually by this time of year, China purchases around 500 million bushels of soybeans from the United States. But this harvest season, China has not purchased a single bushel. To put this into perspective, the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) estimates that around 550 million bushels will be harvested in Iowa alone this year.

China is the world’s largest soybean buyer. Without China, the price of U.S. soybeans remains low.

Grant Kimberley is a sixth-generation soybean farmer in Maxwell. He is also the Senior Director for Market Development at the ISA. He said that while the price of soybeans this year is similar to the price of soybeans last year, farmers are facing greater risk now because their expenses are higher.

“That’s the whole problem in agriculture. We have a cost squeeze because expenses have not come down. Prices have come down in the last couple of years,” he said.

According to Kimberley, if China were in the market for U.S. soybeans this year, the price of U.S. soybeans would be greater than what it is now. With prices this year being similar to last year, when China was in the market, farmers are now facing tough times since expenses have not stayed the same as they were last year.

Kimberley said the cost of fertilizer, seed, and machinery has all increased this year, which is why higher prices for soybeans are vital for farmers to be able to sustain their farmland.

This comes as President Donald Trump announced his administration is sending $20 billion in support to Argentina.

Kimberley said this would have a negative impact on Iowa farmers because Argentina is one of the United States’ largest competitors in soybean and corn exports.

“As a soybean farmer, that’s very frustrating because they are one of the top competitors to our industry,” said Kimberley. “When we see that package being offered to them, what that allows them to do is to lower some of their own export taxes, made their soybeans cheaper, and the Chinese came in and purchased a large quantity of those soybeans. And that actually allowed the Chinese to go longer without purchasing from the United States now.” 

President Trump has yet to provide U.S. farmers the aid he promised earlier this month, citing the government shutdown as the reason why the aid can’t be distributed.

Kimberley said there are three main things farmers are hoping will happen that will help ease their concerns.

The first is a resolution to the U.S. and China trade negotiations and the immediate resumption of soybean exports to China.

President Trump is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in around a week, where farmers are hoping this resolution is made.

The second is for the U.S. government to finalize the renewable program volume obligation (RVO), which is the annual requirement obligated parties, such as oil refiners and fuel importers, must meet by blending a specific volume of renewable fuels into their gasoline and diesel supply.

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed RVOs for 2026 and 2027 in September and the agency is working on a final regulation.

Kimberley said, “This would help [soybean farmers] increase our domestic usage of things like biodiesel and ethanol.”

About 30% of the soybeans grown in Iowa feed the biodiesel industry within the state, according to the ISA.

The third thing Kimberley said farmers are hoping for is the passage of the Fertilizer Research Act. This is bipartisan legislation that was reintroduced to Congress in September by Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, along with Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin.

The legislation would require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct a study on competition and trends in the fertilizer market and their subsequent impacts on price.

Kimberley said, “I think the passage of that bill, that study act, would really help shine a light on why we have high expenses and why those input costs have not come down and hopefully find a way to make those costs become lower.”