Name: Soybean farmer says Trump aid falls short as losses mount
Uploaded: 2025-10-24T00:29:26.041Z
Duration: 2 min 23 s
Description: Last month, President Trump said he would use revenue generated by tariffs to bail out American soybean farmers affected by the trade war with China. They were expecting around $13 billion, but the administration is only offering a quarter of that amount.

Last month, President Trump said he would use revenue generated by tariffs to bail out American soybean farmers affected by the trade war with China. They were expecting around $13 billion, but the administration is only offering a quarter of that amount.

Polk City

Soybean farmers in Iowa are facing significant financial difficulties due to the ongoing trade war, which has led China, the largest importer of U.S. soybeans, to halt purchases. The federal government has resumed some Farm Service Agency operations and is offering $3 billion in aid, but farmers argue this is far less than the $13 billion originally expected and insufficient to cover mounting losses.

Farmers report that current aid packages are based on existing Farm Bill policies and do not address the unique challenges caused by the trade dispute. With the agricultural sector already under pressure from market downturns and the effects of the government shutdown, many farmers are relying on cattle to remain profitable. However, new plans to import beef from Argentina have raised concerns about further losses.

Soybean farmer says Trump aid falls short as losses mount

Today, despite the 23-day-old federal shutdown, the Farm Service Agency resumed core operations, including loan processing and payments. The reopening can't come soon enough for soybean farmers, hurt hard by President Trump's tariffs. As CBS's Lana Zak reports from Iowa, the federal government is trying to give them $3 billion, but farmers say it's not enough. Just one of these silos in Polk City, Iowa, holds about $50,000 worth of soybeans, but it should be worth a lot more. Soybeans are a huge business in the U.S., worth as much as $30 billion a year. But as a consequence of the trade war, the biggest importer, China, has completely stopped buying from U.S. farmers. Farmers all across the state have had a challenging year. Aaron Lehman is a fifth-generation family farmer and is also the head of the Iowa Farmers Union. Is it worse than you expected? Oh, it is. I don't know how many farmers who have approached me and said, you know, we thought that we would be having some trade tension, but we had no idea it would be this type of trade tension and this type of chaos. Last month, President Trump said he would use revenue generated by the tariffs to bail out American farmers. They were expecting around $13 billion, but the shutdown stalled the process indefinitely. Now the administration is only offering a quarter of that amount. The current aid package that's being released right now is simply current Farm Bill policies that have been in existence for the life of this Farm Bill. Going back to when? Well, we passed the last Farm Bill eight years ago. This is not the help that we need to deal with this trade chaos. For as long as the trade disputes go on, the need for aid likely increases. Agricultural economist Chad Hart. Right now, you're looking at an ag downturn in combination with the government shutdown and in combination with the trade fight. So it all just kind of builds upon each other here to put a lot of pressure on agricultural producers. And with soy and corn taking such a major hit, farmers here tell me it is only their cattle that is keeping them profitable. But with President Trump's new plans to import beef from Argentina, they say that they're worried that they may lose those profits as well. John. And Lana Zak in Iowa for us. Thank you, Lana.

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