US farmers lose $47 billion soybean market overnight. Maybe tariffs aren’t the answer to everything?

Let’s get caught up to speed, for the benefit of everyone still obsessing over Epstein and Charlie Kirk:

Trump (to planet): “You’re all going to pay huge tariffs on everything. I will change the amounts daily. Bwaaaah!!!”

China (to US): “Please cancel our US soybean purchases for 2025. We’ll let you know later about 2026”

Farmers (to Trump): “We need a $47 billion bailout because now China is buying all its soybeans from Argentina”

Trump: “I’m going to bail out Argentina’s economy. Make Argentina Great Again. And here’s a new tariff on kitchen cabinets, in case anyone was thinking of remodeling.”

The silver lining: at least no talking heads will appear on CNN and PBS wringing their hands over soybean inflation in America’s supermarkets. Stop laughing - all of this is true. See link at bottom.

If you had asked me to guess the value of the annual US soybean crop, I’d have said anywhere from $1 billion to $1 trillion. If you asked me how much of America’s farmland is devoted to soybeans, I’d have been equally helpless. Turns out it’s 85 million acres, equal to the combined land mass of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Delaware. See second link at bottom.

That is a LOT of farmland devoted just to grow soybeans. What does China do with all of these beans? If you said “tofu” (curdled soy milk, congealed to impersonate cheese) you’d be wrong. China mostly feeds our soybeans to their pigs. Which in turn become pork egg rolls, sweet and sour spareribs, and possibly bacon.

I’m okay with this, if it keeps China from harvesting wild bats and selling them alive in “wet markets”, which THEN ends up infecting half the world with the Covid 19 virus. If that’s the way it actually happened, and the pandemic WASN’T a leak from their Wuhan military experimental virus lab . . .

Let’s cut to the chase. I wish no misfortune on America’s farmers. But those 85 million acres are probably put to better use feeding America, rather than fattening pigs to feed a global adversary which is constantly hacking America’s airports and banks, threatening to invade Taiwan, and torturing it’s Nobel peace prize winners in prison.

Can we have a conversation about putting America first (not China or Argentina) and keeping our own people fed and housed?

I’m just sayin’ . . .

‘The frustration is overwhelming’: Soybean farmers feel betrayed as Argentina blows a hole in rural America’s $47 billion soybean bonanza

Why Soybeans Have Become The Second Largest Crop In The U.S.

exchrist · 36-40

I would like to see American soybean remain in the American ecosystem (& economy) unfortunately that lack of foreign investment into the American agricultural sector is destined to require increased farm subsidies. That will result in less foreign income into americas economy because of fewer exports being ordered and purchased.
It might be good for shoring up domestic supply chains; but given the interconnectivity of the global economy it is more likely that retaliatory tariffs will simply neutralize any gains that might result.
Will turning America inward allow improved competition with foreign supply chains? In about 6 to 8 years such that all the negatives stemming from trumps policies will fall heavily on the next administration.
That’s DJTs game! fuck up the situation to force a change then leave all the consequences onto the next person. A very American approach. The fix will then get blamed on a democrat (most likely) then switch back real the benefits and repeat

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@exchrist i'm becoming a fan of self sufficency (in our nation) on things like:

1 - food
2 - energy
3 - national defense tech

exchrist · 36-40

@SusanInFlorida those would be great priorities and goals instead America tries to turn military engagement into profit at the expense of domestic priorities ww2 politicians with ww2 strategies & solutions