LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky's top crop is nearing a crisis as the state's nearly 2 million acres of soybeans prepare for harvest amid a trade dispute.

China, the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans, has stopped purchasing American crops in retaliation for tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The timing couldn't be worse for Kentucky farmers already struggling with high input costs and weather challenges.

Grant Gardner, a University of Kentucky assistant extension professor, said central Kentucky farmers were already facing a "double whammy" of poor yields and low prices before trade fallout entered the picture.

The soybeans, which will be harvested from early September through November depending on planting dates, are grown on about 1.9 million acres across Kentucky. The crop

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