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Farmers cautious about China following through on soy commitments

Some farmers say they are being cautious in their assessment of the U.S.-China trade framework.

Ray Gaesser is a corn and soybean farmer in southwest Iowa…

“Glad to see that there’s somewhat of an agreement with China,” he said. “We don’t know how well they will follow through. We just need to utilize the crops we grow as best we can and add value with biodiesel.”

As part of the agreement, China has agreed to purchase more U.S. soybeans and sorghum, but additional details remain unclear.

Central Iowa farmer Morey Hill tells Brownfield that U.S. producers can’t rely on one market.

“There at the end of October I was in South America for a soybean conference with USSEC,” Hill said. “We’re working on getting markets and stuff, but we can’t replace China overnight. We’ve got to keep at it and keep building those relationships so we can sell more U.S. soy.”

Gaesser says increasing domestic demand could help provide value to the commodity which faces a continued low market price.