The combines are in the field
and Wisconsin.
Soybean harvest
is looking strong.
What's not strong, however,
is the price per bushel.
I'm Here.
& Now.
Senior political reporter
Zac Schultz.
I spoke with Doug Rebout,
a Rock County farmer
and president
of the Wisconsin
Soybean Association.
He says prices are so low
some farmers may go
out of business.
This all stems
from the Trump
administration's trade war
with China.
China is the largest buyer
of American soybeans.
And when the
Trump administration hit them
with tariffs,
China retaliated by refusing
to buy any more American
beans,
instead switching
to buying their soybeans
from Brazil and Argentina.
That means there's really not
a strong market
for these beans,
And as they come off
the field, farmers
usually don't store
beans in grain bins.
They have to take them
to a grain elevator,
Where they can
either accept the price
that's offered and lose money
or pay by the month,
and have them stored
in the hope that prices go up
and they can
kind of break even.
Either way, it's bad news
for the Wisconsin farmer.
For more on this
and other issues,
visit pbswisconsin.org
and click on the news tab.