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Soybean farmers in a holding pattern

Posted at 2:46 PM, Jan 27, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-27 15:46:48-05

With roughly five weeks left in a “timeout” truce between the U.S. and China in their tariff wars, soybean farmers in Louisiana and elsewhere in the country remain in a holding pattern, our media partners at The Advocate report.

Months after China, which historically buys about 60 percent of Louisiana’s soybeans, slapped a 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans in July, pricing them out of the market, many farmers are holding on to their stocks of soybeans and waiting to see what happens with prices.

The 90-day timeout on new tariffs began Dec. 1 and runs out on March 1, with farmers hoping something constructive comes at the end.

In another blow to the state’s soybean industry, heavy rains during harvest season this past fall damaged late-maturing varieties of soybeans to the point that some fields were lost to the rain or farmers were able to harvest damaged beans — still useful for the beans’ end products — but not drawing the best available price.

To read the Advocate’s complete story with all the details, click here.