Soybean producers: Advance 2025-crop sales... Soybean prices surged higher after reports China would purchase an additional 8 MMT this season (see more below). Those comments came from Trump on Truth Social. Given the uncertainty in fulfillment of these shipments, the risk of giving up today’s strength remains high. We advise soybean hedgers and cash-only marketers to sell another 20% of 2025 production to get to 50% sold. We will evaluate additional sales as the dust settles.
Former leaders of farm and biofuel organizations as well as former USDA and state agriculture officials this week sent a letter to lawmakers warning that the dire state of the farm economy risked a “widespread collapse of American agriculture.”
The missive, sent to the leadership of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, expressed “significant concerns about the state of America’s farm economy and the harmful and compounding effect that Administration policies are having on our farmers and on the long-term competitiveness of U.S. agriculture,” according to news reports.
The bipartisan group of 27 former ag executives and officials, including former presidents and CEOs of the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Pork Producers Council, National Barley Growers Association, National Milk Producers Federation, US Grains Council, and Renewable Fuels Association, said that farmer bankruptcies have doubled, barely half of all farms will be profitable this year, and noted that the U.S. is running a historic agriculture trade deficit. “These metrics reflect a sharp reversal from record farm export surpluses and farm incomes experienced just a few years ago,” they wrote.
They said that while the reasons for the dramatic turnaround are complex, “it is clear that the current Administration’s actions, along with Congressional inaction, have increased costs for farm inputs, disrupted overseas and domestic markets, denied agriculture its reliable labor pool, and defunded critical ag research and staffing…Congress needs to assert itself on behalf of farmers if we are to avoid a widespread collapse of American agriculture and our rural communities.”
The letter urged a nine-point plan to stabilize the farm economy:
- Immediately exempt all farm inputs from tariffs;
- Repeal tariffs that are disrupting agriculture export markets;
- Pass Trade Promotion Authority to enable the Administration to pursue and secure meaningful, enforceable, free trade agreements that can be passed by Congress and have the full force and effect of law;
- Direct the Administration to prioritize the negotiation of binding trade agreements with countries that need our agricultural products and that can help offset other market disruptions;
- Encourage the Administration to expeditiously complete the review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, favorably resolve the pending dairy dispute settlement case with Canada, and ensure that the USMCA is extended for the next sixteen years;
- Pass legislation to enable nationwide E15, year-round ethanol, and sustainable aviation fuel to boost domestic markets for U.S. corn and soybeans;
- Pass a new farm bill;
- Pass farm labor reform including reform to the H-2A program; and
- Restore funding for land-grant agriculture research, critical USDA staffing, and domestic and international food aid programs.
The warning comes amid signs of worsening sentiment among farmers who continue to be squeezed by high input costs and low crop prices. The monthly Purdue University - CME Group Ag Economy Barometer released Tuesday showed a sharp deterioration in its measures of both current conditions and future expectations, with the five-year outlook for the ag economy at its weakest since late 2024.
Soybeans jump after Trump signals more China purchases: March soybeans rose 26 1/2 cents to $10.92 1/4, hitting a nearly two-month high after President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post, said China was considering buying another 8 million metric tons of the crop “this season” after recently completing the 12 million MT the administration said it had agreed to buy after the president’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late October.
House Ag to debate new farm bill: House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson has set Feb. 23-25 for the panel to debate a new farm bill, Agri-Pulse reported Wednesday. The Pennsylvania Republican told Agri-Pulse that he met with GOP members of the committee to discuss what would be in the legislation. The bill will include provisions aimed at preempting certain pesticide labeling lawsuits in state courts and state animal welfare laws such as California’s Proposition 12, the report said.
Bunge earnings, guidance disappoint: Bunge Global on Wednesday reported a 2026 profit outlook that came in below Wall Street expectations, warning that the commodity market volatility and tight margins that weighed on earnings last year are still a headwind, Reuters reported. The world’s largest oilseed processor reported both its weakest fourth quarter and lowest annual adjusted profit since 2019, the report said. Shares still ended the day with a modest gain.
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