about that trade war...

PLC1

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The Golden State
....except for the soybean growers in North Dakota.


North Dakota soybean farmers, caught in the trade war, watch the season run out on their crop


But there is another problem facing farmers in the Sheyenne River Valley, 60 miles west of Fargo: They are snagged in the trade crossfire between Washington and Beijing.


For the past decade, North American soybean production has exploded, driven by an intense demand from China. Peterson and other Great Plains farmers directly fed the overseas markets, harvesting more than 243 million bushels in North Dakota, at a price of $2.1 billion in the last market year. The majority of that crop fattened Chinese livestock.


And now, thanks to tariffs, they're faced with the problem of storing all those unsold soybeans.


Peterson has about 25 percent of his crop under contract with a buyer and will store the rest. Many farmers in the region have begun dusting off old bins for storage. Others are hoping to build new storage facilities for the overflow, but steel and aluminum tariffs have driven up construction costs.


“We’re getting hit by both sides of the equation here,” he said.


Elections do have consequences.
 
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