Tariffs squeeze soybean farmers and the elevators that serve them

WILTON, N.D. (KFYR) - As soybean farmers are feeling the pinch this harvest season, so are elevators.

Due to low commodity prices, caused by China’s boycott of US soybeans in response to tariffs, soybean farmers are storing their beans on their farms and hoping to sell them at higher prices in the future. This means local elevators aren’t getting the amount of soybean revenue they need.

“In our situation, we’re taking a proactive approach and stepping into handling corn, which we haven’t in the past, and hopefully we’ll have that to offset some of the downturn in the handle on soybeans,” said Mark Jennings, the general manager of Wilton Farmers Union Elevator.

Jennings added that small co-ops like his cannot sustain low volumes for more than two years, so the transition to corn is a necessity.

The soybean harvest is expected to wrap up by early November.