Daywatch: Illinois soybean farmers struggle with trade war and rising costs

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Good morning, Chicago.

On his family’s more than century-old farm in Greenville, Scott Gaffner brought in his soybeans this fall much like any other year. But, like thousands of other farmers across Illinois and the country, he began harvesting crops in September without a single order from China, the world’s largest buyer.

Soybeans are Illinois’ largest agricultural export, and last year, the state exported more than $1.4 billion worth of soybeans to China, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. This year, an unpredictable trade war with China, rising costs and competition from South America are hitting farmers hard, especially in Illinois, the largest soybean producer in the country.

“In the long term, we lose market access,