Gov. Walz, ag leaders express concern about trade war impact on soybeans

FARIBAULT, Minn. — In a visit to Faribault with Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday, state agricultural leaders expressed concern about the impact of the trade war on soybean exports and said that President Donald Trump’s proposed bailout plan would fall short of the money needed to help farmers over the long term.

Hosted by the Purfeerst family in rural Rice County, Walz spent roughly an hour on the farm Wednesday afternoon with Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish, Minnesota Farm Bureau President Dan Glessing, and other representatives of Minnesota’s agricultural industry. 

They discussed various challenges facing farmers, including high production costs related to items like energy and fertilizer, as well as the Chinese boycott of American soybeans that has been ongoing since May as retaliation for the Trump administration’s tariffs.

“This is an important industry for us. It’s a core of who we are as Americans and as Minnesotans,” Walz said. “We need to find solutions.”

To replace the Chinese market, soybean growers have been courting other domestic and foreign buyers. Still, China is the world’s largest market and accounted for about a fourth of Minnesota’s soybean exports prior to the most recent trade war.

“We need to trade. We all know that. We produce more domestically than we can consume,” Wertish with the Farmers Union said. “We have to find more markets, and that takes time and we need to do that. But the real fear is we’re losing our reliability … as a reliable trading partner.”

President Trump is scheduled to meet with President Xi of China later this month and has said soybeans will be among the topics they discuss. 

Republican U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad, a corn and soybean farmer himself who represents Faribault in the 1st Congressional District, said he’s supportive of the Trump administration’s trading strategy.

“We can’t put our head in the sand and say we’re content with having all our eggs in China’s basket. We have to diversify our trade partners,” Finstad said in an interview. “I do think we’re getting their attention. We are looking for other people to buy our commodities. Other people are interested. That will be the pressure they need, to know they’re not the only game in town.”

Finstad said he’s also supportive of the Trump administration’s proposed bailout package of more than $10 billion, a plan that has been slowed by the current government shutdown.

“We’re going to need some kind of lifeline right now,” Finstad said, “because of crippling inputs.”

Walz also agrees with the bailout package as a short-term fix.

“Our farmers will tell you they don’t want it, but I’m supportive. They need to get the resources now,” Walz said. “This is not the solution, it is a band-aid, but when you need a band-aid, use the band-aid.”

Wertish said the bailout money would help, but added that the $10 billion-plus figure estimated by the administration wouldn’t be nearly enough.

“The farmers need it, there’s no doubt,” he said, “but it’s kind of been self-inflicted by the current president’s policies, so that’s a little frustrating as a farmer.”