The latest episode of “Talking Trade” features Wisconsin Soybean Association President Doug Rebout on how U.S. tariffs impact the country’s soybean farmers.
Rebout, who also serves as the chair of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculuture, Trade and Consumer Protection board, said there’s “so much uncertainty out there in global trade.”
One of the biggest issues is China’s decision to largely stop buying soybeans from the U.S. since the country used to buy over 60% of the soybean export market, he said. China hasn’t bought anything in the last month, he added.
“Let’s stop the bleeding right now,” he said. “Let’s try and get it so we’re not losing any more markets. Yeah, China’s huge, we’d love to get part of that back, but we do need to concentrate on other countries. The more diverse we are, the better it is for us.”
Most of Wisconsin’s soybean production, roughly two-thirds, are exported, Rebout said. That much volume can’t just be replaced by other trade partners, he added.
“China is so significant because of the volume,” he said. “Yeah, some of these other countries are buying from us … Mexico, Canada. These are all some of our major export countries, especially here for Wisconsin, not just for soybeans, but for all agricultural products. … So yeah, some countries were increasing what we’re trading to them, but like I said, it cannot make up that loss that we have in China.”
Rebout also said he goes to Washington DC to lobby lawmakers by telling them how the U.S. needs to work to stop the losses right now and work on rebooting trade deals with major importers like China. He argued that while China has already found other trade partners that they’re unlikely to give up if the U.S. eliminated its latest tariffs, “we have to start regaining that.”
“Every time I go out there I have good conversations,” he said. “I don’t care what office I go into, what party I go into, we’re talking agriculture. It should be and it is the most bipartisan issue out there, because it affects everyone.”
He also said farmland typically used to produce soybeans can be used for other crops, but doing so would upset farmers’ traditional routines. Those routines, switching between growing soybeans and corn every two years for example, help promote soil health, he added. Farmers also have to consider how a sudden influx of corn on the market would impact the corn market price, Derout said.
“We can adjust those numbers a little bit,” he said. “But we can’t go and say, ‘You know what, soybeans aren’t selling, so we’re going to let that land sit or we’re going to go and raise 2,000 acres of sunflowers or something.’ Because, like on our farm, we don’t have the knowledge for that, and then there’s not a market for that.”
Talking Trade is hosted by E.M Wasylik Associates Managing Director Ken Wasylik and M.E. Dey & Co. President and Managing Director Sandi Siegel.
