SOYBEAN HARVEST SEASON IN EASTERN COLORADO
This is the time of year for the U.S. soybean harvest. In Yuma County, on the eastern plains of Colorado, farmer Ryan Hansen is harvesting his soybean crop on a warm October day.
Two years ago, massive hail storms wiped away most of Hansen’s soybeans. He plants it rotationally, meaning every other year, in between other crops.
This year, the yield is plentiful. As he makes his way up and down his field, the massive combine machinery easily clears out the rows and rows of soybeans.
Despite a good harvest, Hansen isn’t too optimistic about making much money off of it. He said he’d be happy to get $9 a bushel. The all-time high was almost $18 a bushel in 2012.
“Pretty disappointed. It's not looking good for us as far as selling the product or anything, so it’s not much fun,” said Hansen in his combine, as he dumped a full load of soybeans into a trailer. “I guess it takes all the fun out of it when they're... not worth anything.”
The largest buyer of soybeans, China, has opted to go elsewhere so far this year. As President Trump’s trade war intensified with 35% tariffs on the world’s second largest economy, orders from China became nonexistent.
Instead, China has gone to South America, buying from Brazil and Argentina, at the expense of U.S. farmers like Hansen.
“We haven't sold them yet,” said Hansen. “The market doesn't look very promising.”
TRUMP’S TRADE WAR AND CHINA’S DISAPPEARANCE
There’s been hope that Mr. Trump and his on again, off again trade threats against China would cool down and some sort of deal would be reached.
But, his remarks against China have been changing seemingly by the day. He recently suggested 100% tariffs are in consideration. On Tuesday, he brought the issue back to the forefront in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“I believe that China purposefully not buying our Soybeans, and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers, is an Economically Hostile Act,” wrote Trump. “We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution. As an example, we can easily produce Cooking Oil ourselves, we don’t need to purchase it from China.”
According to the American Soybean Association (ASA), China is the world’s largest importer of soybeans, importing an average of 61% of the world’s traded soybean supplies, which is more than the rest of the world combined.
The ASA says 54% of America’s soybeans are exported to China.
For farmers like Hansen in Yuma County, the sudden disappearance of that kind of trading partner can be staggering.
Tatiana Bailey, an economist and executive director of Data-Driven Economic Strategies in Colorado Springs, said much of this began during President Trump’s first term.
“In the first Trump administration, it's kind of easy to forget we had some tariffs then as well. And even though they were not as severe as they are now, there definitely was a tee up, because some of this already got started,” she said.
During Trump’s first term, soybean exports to China began declining, she said. At the time, China began looking to other countries, like Brazil and Argentina.
With the current 35% effective tariff rate on soybeans, which American companies have to pay, the costs have essentially risen by over a third, Bailey pointed out.
On top of that, a current U.S. effort to bail out Argentina to the tune of at least $20 billion is likely further hurting U.S. farmers, they've said. Argentina has been able to sell their soybeans to China at lower prices.
"This year also yielded great soybean harvests due to weather, which meant a high supply that was already depressing prices globally," said Bailey.
Bailey said even if Trump and China reach a deal soon, it’s probably too late to help American farmers this harvest, and she’s concerned China may never fully come back to the U.S. soybean market.
Prior to the government shutdown, Bailey noted there was discussion around farm subsidies to bail out the struggling farmers.
“The only reprieve, if you will, will probably be the subsidies, the additional subsidies above and beyond the ones that already exist,” said Bailey. “That the U.S. government will have to really bail out the soybean farmers.”
But from a taxpayer perspective, she said taxpayers should recognize the paradox Trump’s tariffs are creating.
"There’s an estimated $100 to $150 billion in tariff revenues, but then a farmer bailout could cost anywhere from $15 to $55 billion," she said.
COLORADO’S SMALL, BUT DEDICATED SOYBEAN SECTOR
Rod Hahn and his family are generational farmers in Yuma County. His great-grandfather homesteaded the area in 1909.
It wasn’t until 1998 that Hahn decided to jump into soybean farming. Like Hansen, he plants soybeans in rotation, alternating years with corn.
He said 1998 was a “disaster” for him, but he stuck with it because he could actually make more money per acre growing soybeans.
When asked about the current state of soybean farming in Colorado and the U.S., Hahn was curt.
“Right now, it’s terrible, terrible, and terrible,” said Hahn.
He pointed to a record crop year, which is terrible for prices. Hahn said the low prices are terrible for farmers. A huge carryover, which means a large number of soybeans will be leftover for next year, which is terrible for depressing prices even further.
His last time growing soybeans two years ago, he said his daughter was able to get $12 a bushel and farmers would be lucky to get $10 this year.
Colorado’s soybean sector is shrinking. According to Colorado agricultural data, the state peaked in 2017 with about 19,000 acres for soybean harvested land and over 964,000 harvested bushels.
In 2022, the number dropped to about 10,000 acres and just under 400,000 bushels. Hahn said he suspects it’s because farmers in Kit Carson County moved away from soybeans to other crops.
But Hahn isn’t all doom and gloom. He said however terrible the soybean market might be right now, he’s optimistic it will rebound due to the wide variety of uses for the crop.
“I hope it comes back, and I have the optimism,” said Hahn. “Farmers are optimists. I mean, you go out every year, and no matter what the last year was like, when you go out to plant your crop, hey, that's going to be the best crop you ever planted.”
Hahn also represents the United Soybean Board (USB), not to be mistaken with the ASA.
Whereas the ASA handles soybean farmer policy issues, Hahn said the USB oversees the soybean checkoff program, which uses farmer-directed investments to drive research, innovation and market development to grow and market U.S. soy.
Because of that role, Hahn is a big cheerleader for all things U.S. soy.
"Soybeans are great for soil because as a legume, they put nitrogen into the soil and encourage soil fertility," said Hahn.
He also noted how many applications the crop has apart from becoming meal feed for China’s pigs.
Soybeans can also be converted into industrial applications like biodegradable chainsaw oil, asphalt, artificial turf, firefighting foam that’s free of forever chemicals and biodiesel fuel.
Hahn plans to keep soybeans in his rotation and says his daughter, who runs his old family farm now, loves to grow them.
He hopes China comes back to the table if a trade deal is ever worked out. He recognizes Brazil is able to keep their prices lower, but thinks the quality of U.S. farming will win out.
“The quality of the United States soybeans is superior to Brazil soybeans, mainly because of the climate. We have a cold spell after ours, and we can ship in cold weather,” said Hahn. “Whereas in Brazil, they're in the tropics, and so they always have humidity and temperature problems and so our quality is pretty good. In fact, it's a lot better than Brazil.”
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Colorado Springs City Council approves resolution honoring Charlie Kirk
Colorado Springs Councilmembers went back and forth Tuesday morning over whether October 14 should be recognized as a day of remembrance for Charlie Kirk.
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