(Radio Iowa) – Harvest season hasn’t even started in Iowa yet and forecasts for bumper crops are driving prices down, as soybean farmers in particular fear the value of their commodity will be well below what it cost to produce it. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says disruptions in international trade may share part of the blame. “Record production, I think has more to do with it,” Grassley says, “but it isn’t just soybeans, it’s corn that’s losing money, too.” Even with a powerful, damaging derecho in July and near-record rains this summer, the U-S-D-A projects Iowa growers are on target for what promises to be the biggest-ever corn crop. That good news is also bad as the rules of supply and demand dictate a record crop will mean free-falling prices.

“It’s just kind of a fact of life that farmers make profits maybe two or three years out of seven or eight,” Grassley says, “and you’ve got to save money to get through the rest of the time. That’s just the way farming is.” Trump administration tariffs prompted many other nations to enact retaliatory tariffs, some of which were later reversed, however, crucial agreements with a few key trading partners have yet to be ironed out. “Since the first of the year, China hasn’t bought anything from us,” Grassley says. “I don’t have a report yet, but the Chinese ambassador was over here a week ago yesterday and today, and I think for three days, and soybeans was going to be one of the negotiations.”

Iowa is the nation’s leading corn producer, and it’s among a dozen states which the U-S-D-A projects will haul in bin-busting crops this fall. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says he’s working to find new international markets for Iowa’s top commodities, with trade trips to India, Indonesia and Vietnam all planned in the coming weeks.