TN Soybean farmers face 'desperate situation' amid inflation, weather extremes and tariffs [View all]

The University of Tennessee in August estimated total losses of nearly $110M for soybeans this year

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Soybeans are Tennessee’s most prominent row crop, logging more than $990 million in cash receipts in 2023. Tennessee farmers planted around 1.75 million acres of soybeans in 2025, mostly in West and Middle Tennessee.

Soybeans also topped the state’s commodity exports in 2023, bringing in $489.4 million, followed by cotton at $302.7 million. Soybean meal came in fourth with $129.6 million in export earnings, according to United States Department of Agriculture data.

Since President Donald Trump took office in January and began imposing tariffs on imported goods — including Chinese imports — China has answered with its own tariffs on U.S. goods. China began boycotting the purchase of U.S. soybeans in May, according to the New York Times, turning instead to crops from Brazil and other South American countries.

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The American Soybean Association points to losses farmers experienced during trade tensions between China and the U.S. in 2018. Soybean farmers in the United States lost $9.4 billion that year, according to a USDA estimate.

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https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/09/15/tn-soybean-farmers-face-desperate-situation-amid-inflation-weather-extremes-and-tariffs/