The ongoing trade war between the United States and China have hurt the pocketbooks of Illinois farmers.
According to a study cosponsored by Krista Swanson of the Gardner Policy Program at the University of Illinois says there was a huge drop in soybean price in 2018 compared to an annual average from 2000 to 2017. Swanson tells us when this drop exactly took place last year.
“You see some deviation in mid-July [in a high yield year] – price starts to fall from the average and that’s when yield is realized and you have a pretty good idea what you have out in the field. But what’s different about last year is that you see this major deviation happen in June rather than mid-July, which is much earlier than expected and more significant.”
This concern is amplified due to the fact that Illinois, along with the rest of the America, is a huge exporter of soybeans to China, with two-thirds of the state’s soybeans being exported to the country. There is currently a 28 per cent tariff on soybeans imported to China.
To read the full report, visit farmdocdaily.illinois.edu or listen to the full interview with Swanson below.
Article written by Matthew Needham.
