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North Dakota bet bigger on Chinese soybean demand than any other U.S. state, says a report from Reuters.
The industry here -- on the far northwestern edge of the U.S. farm belt, close to Pacific ports -- spent millions on grain storage and rail-loading infrastructure while boosting plantings by five-fold in 20 years.
For North Dakota, losing China -- the buyer of about 70% of the state’s soybeans -- has destroyed a staple source of income.
CHS Dakota Plains Ag elevator in Kindred, ND, has gone three or four months without loading a soybean train this year, said Doug Lingen, a grain merchant there. Normally the elevator would load at least one train a month with beans bound for the Pacific Northwest.
Read the full report at Reuters.
