With fall harvest underway, farmers and agriculture industry associations are pleading for an end to a trade war that they say hurts U.S. exports of soybeans and other crops.
China is normally the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, which are the country’s top food export. But because of tariffs, it has not bought any U.S. soybeans from this fall’s crop, including from Illinois, which is the nation’s largest soybean grower. Instead, China sharply increased their purchase of Argentine soybeans in September.
“We have one billion bushels of soybeans that don’t have a home. So many [U.S.] farmers are hurting now,” John Bartman, a fifth-generation farmer in Marengo, said. “This is a man-made disaster caused by Donald Trump and his administration.”
Bartman grows soybean and corn at Bartman Family Farms, about 1 1/2 hours northwest of Chicago. He spoke on a virtual media call organized by the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday.
The DNC also released videos and YouTube ads featuring Bartman that target Republican districts in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Kentucky. The five-figure ad campaign focused on agriculture and kicks off the DNC’s campaigning for the midterm elections in 2026.
“This chaotic tariff policy is creating so much uncertainty for our producers and we have seen this before,” U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) said on Tuesday’s call. “During [Trump’s] first term, the president’s trade war caused our farmers to lose $27 billion in exports, and unfortunately, history is repeating itself and American farmers are caught in the middle.”
Trump is weighing an aid package for farmers. But Bartman said, “We don’t want bailouts. We want markets for our crops. …While American farmers suffer, who benefits? South America.”
Bailouts are like putting “Band-Aids on bullet wounds,” he added.
Farmers are also seeing higher costs for supplies such as fertilizer, as well as equipment.
“The supply chain is all screwed up,” said Bartman, who had to drive to Minnesota to find a part for his combine. “Manufacturers don’t know what to do because tariffs change every week.”
He also expressed frustration over the federal government shutdown. “We don’t have time,” Bartman said. “People should be in Washington, debating this. We need help.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on Tuesday’s call the U.S. expects a “massive harvest” of soybeans this year. It took decades for farmers to establish global markets; they produce more food than the U.S. can use. But reckless tariffs put family farms at risk, said Walz, who urged an end to “the ridiculous trade war.”
Last month, the U.S. offered a $20 billion currency swap line to Argentina’s central bank to stabilize the country’s turbulent financial markets. After the deal was announced, Argentina waived export taxes. China then ordered nearly two million tons of Argentine soybean and soy products.
“The frustration is overwhelming,” American Soybean Association president and farmer Caleb Ragland said in a September statement.
“U.S. soybean prices are falling, harvest is underway, and farmers read headlines not about securing a trade agreement with China, but that the U.S. government is extending $20 billion in economic support to Argentina while that country drops its soybean export taxes to sell 20 shiploads of Argentine soybeans to China in just two days,” said Ragland, who farms soybeans in Magnolia, Kentucky.
In fiscal year 2025, U.S. soybean exports are forecast to fall by $2.7 billion and by $4.2 billion in fiscal year 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Overall U.S. agriculture exports to China are expected to fall by $8.7 billion in fiscal year 2025 and by $8 billion in fiscal year 2026.