MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) – With fall officially here, farmers are slowly starting to harvest the fruits of a long growing season.
It’s been a good year for growing, with consistent heat and rain giving an optimistic outlook on yields.
But what happens after harvest is complete, is out of their hands.
Some crops are entering a strong market.
“The exports on corn has been well. Ethanol production on corn, been well. Feed usage of corn has been really well. Corn is in a good spot,” Greenseam Director Sam Ziegler said.
Meanwhile other crops are entering a particularly difficult spot.
“Our soybean processors are crushing extremely well. Exports are really low. The main one is China. They haven’t bought one vessel of new crop soybeans yet, when normally they have boats lined up for it,” Ziegler said.
Export markets have been in question all year long, as the Trump administration has spent the year waging tariffs against international trade partners.
That battle has been in the background for most of the year, but now harvest is about to begin, and farmers may end up being stuck with product that would normally have an eager buyer.
“It’s trade relations. We need to open up doors and have fair trade and have customers that are buying our product with the vessels and the rail lined up, and we’re into harvest and we don’t have that,” Ziegler said.
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