"2025 brought another unprofitable harvest in the Heartland, where soybean farmers were already dealing with high equipment and fertilizer costs due to inflation and tariffs. Kevin Deinert farms the same land his great-great-grandfather did near Mitchell, South Dakota, about 80 miles from the Iowa state line. "I'd be probably the fifth generation, I've got sons, that'd be the sixth that possibly would want to take over the farm," Deinert says over the hum of his tractor."
"Deinert is hoping to store them a few more months, hang on until maybe prices go up and there's a new trade deal with China, historically the Dakotas' biggest buyer. "We haven't seen anything in writing, and until we do it's hard to get overly excited, we're optimistic," he says. The White House says China agreed to buy 12 million bushels of soybeans this year and about double that next year."
2025 produced another unprofitable harvest for soybean growers across the Heartland as high equipment and fertilizer costs and lingering tariff impacts squeezed margins. Kevin Deinert farms fifth-generation land near Mitchell, South Dakota, and faces difficulty staying solvent year to year while preserving a family legacy. Farmers are storing large soybean stocks in hope that prices rise or that a new trade deal with China restores demand. The White House reports China agreed to buy 12 million bushels this year and roughly double next year, but farmers remain skeptical without concrete agreements and written commitments.
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