Soybeans are a mainstay of Iowa's economy, with farmers like Ron Heck helping drive the state's economic engine. But today China is holding the keys. The beans leave the farm on freight trains bound for the West Coast, and then by boat to China. The system is so efficient that China has become a major customer of Iowa agriculture.
Last year, Iowa exported nearly a billion dollars in products to China; Soybeans made up $240 million. Farmers in Iowa put it in different terms: one of every four rows of soybeans goes to the Chinese. But there are growing signs of trouble.
China's economic slowdown already has hit Wall Street. On the presidential campaign trail Donald Trump warns about the threat from China every chance he gets. And no one is watching more closely than the farmer in Iowa.
"If China really slows down here we will see crop prices decline even further and that will mean some economic tough times here for the agriculture sector in Iowa and across the nation," said economist Chad Hart, a professor at Iowa State University.
That outcome could have devastating consequences.
"It's almost unimaginable," said Ron Heck. "If you suddenly lose a quarter of your market, what do you do? There's no other China on the planet where you could sell the surplus. No one can eat that much."
One thing going in Iowa's favor: China buys U.S. soybeans for a fraction of the cost of growing their own. Farmers give Trump credit for raising concerns about China, but they say the economic relationship has to continue.
Source: CBS






Announcements
Job Offers
"Tweeting Growers"
Top 5 - yesterday
- Bumblebees become true Flying Doctors by protecting strawberries from thrips
- US (FL): Scientists warn of invasive plant pest; say early detection, reporting key
- "When it comes to lighting, we are hit really hard by the energy price increases"
- New Horti Scissor lift requires minimum of maintenance during the season
- "Building up a brand is much more than sticking a label on a fruit"
Top 5 - last week
- 10% increase of tomato production in the new Looije greenhouses
- How growers boost crop yields with greenhouse film EVO AC®
- Stronger plants & higher production with autonomous growing in Mexico
- AU: Provenance Propagation construction close to completion
- Thanks to air-conditioned greenhouses, Emirati producers can grow tomatoes during 45 °C summer
Top 5 - last month
- 10% increase of tomato production in the new Looije greenhouses
- LED trial in cucumbers that even non-cucumber growers should 'see for themselves'
- A greenhouse full of cherry blossoms in Hungary
- Combining aquaponics and hydroponics in a 2 hectare Bahrain facility
- UAE: New desert greenhouse near Abu Dhabi opens
Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here
Other news in this sector:
- 2023-03-30 Demand for offseason strawberries keeps growing in Georgia
- 2023-03-30 Israel’s largest port shut as protests escalate
- 2023-03-30 Morocco restricts tomato exports due to high domestic prices
- 2023-03-30 Movement of blueberries through Arizona, California, and Texas is expected to increase
- 2023-03-30 US: Lettuce prices likely to rise again amid California flooding, experts say
- 2023-03-30 Cucumber prices drop
- 2023-03-29 Very nice demand for greenhouse arugula and French lettuces
- 2023-03-29 NL: Dutch MP wants to stop further growth of heated greenhouses
- 2023-03-29 "There's only one-sixth of the supply of plum cherry tomatoes that there was in mid-February"
- 2023-03-29 Can Indian growers ride the tomato, onion, and potato wave?
- 2023-03-29 Some thoughts on the development of modern horticulture vegetables in China
- 2023-03-29 US: NIFA invests $9.4M in urban and indoor and other emerging production initiatives
- 2023-03-28 Vegetable production up in Poland, but with high prices and low consumption
- 2023-03-28 Critical situation for Almeria's aubergine, cucumber, and zucchini
- 2023-03-28 "Here and there, the cold snap has led to price increases of up to 50 percent for herbs"
- 2023-03-28 How tomatoes are doing on international markets
- 2023-03-27 "Higher prices not enforceable because customers will then avoid the produce"
- 2023-03-27 Significant price increases included strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries
- 2023-03-27 The season of local tomatoes in Poland started a month late
- 2023-03-27 Commercial development of gene-edited food now allowed in England