American soybean farmers are reacting to news of an agreement between the U.S. and China as they struggle to sell their crops. CBS News' Lana Zak reports.

President Trump recently announced a trade agreement with China that includes the purchase of 12 million metric tons of American soybeans. However, this amount is only half of what China typically buys in a year, leaving many U.S. farmers concerned that it will not be enough to raise prices or alleviate their financial struggles.

Farmers across the country are also waiting for a promised $13 billion aid package from the U.S. government, which has been delayed due to a government shutdown. While some USDA offices have reopened to process loans, the full aid package has not yet been delivered, and many farmers remain uncertain about their ability to sustain operations until the next harvest.

Are Trump's trade agreements enough for struggling American farmers?

When President Trump returned from Asia this week, he said he had reached a trade deal with China. Although the deal is not finalized, one of the big takeaways was that China was agreeing to buying a large amount of American soybeans. That is the news farmers have been waiting for, but some fear it may not be enough. CBS News correspondent Lana Zak is in Iowa and joins me now. Lana, you've been hearing from farmers even before this apparent agreement. What are they saying now? Well, Vlad, they were hopeful about this agreement, but unfortunately the details, at least in this first year, are nothing that they are celebrating. 12 million metric tons of soybean is what we have heard from the Trump administration. China has agreed to buy this year. The problem is that that's half of what they normally buy in a year. So for those farmers whose silos are overflowing with soybeans right now, it is not enough to bring up the prices. They're telling me that they are not selling at this moment because they're not ready to lock in a loss. But it's not just a problem here in the Midwest. I want to play a little bit of sound from Delaware to show you how farmers across the country are feeling. China has been known to back out of things, too. But that speculation hasn't ignited enough interest to start putting some money back into the markets. If the 25 million are realized, then we would be substantially back at where we started. So that 25 million that the Delaware secretary of state, Secretary of Agriculture, references, that is for future agreements going forward. That would put China's purchases of soybeans in future years somewhere close to pre-trade war levels. But Vlad, the problem is, farmers say they have to make it to next year's harvest and they are not sure that they can do so. Yeah. Farmers are also, as you know, Lana, you've been reporting on this, they're waiting for this bailout package from Washington. They got a little bit, but what's the latest on that little bit? Is it enough? Yeah, it's what they have gotten is the Trump administration has opened back up some essential offices at the USDA. So they're able to now process some loans. But the aid package that they were promised by the president that hasn't come through yet. That, as you will recall, we first reported prior to the government shutdown, it was supposed to be somewhere in the realm of $13 billion to offset the tremendous losses that farmers are experiencing, both from the increased cost of things that they're purchasing because of the trade war, but also because of the losses that they have experienced as a result of the trade war. And unfortunately, we are told from the Trump administration that aid is not going to come through until the government shutdown is over. So for farmers who are waiting for that promise to be fulfilled, they are still waiting. Wow. All right. Lana Zak in Iowa, covering such an important and critical story for us. Lana, thank you very much, friend.

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