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Brazil and Argentina for several years and for multiple reasons, such as harvested calendars aligning better with feed demand.
“ Structurally, China has a long history of effectively cutting reliance on geopolitically sensitive suppliers and boosting domestic soymeal alternatives, like swine rations with reduced soybean content,” she added.
Put simply, China’ s cutback isn’ t just for political reasons, it’ s partly due to long-term risk mitigation. For U. S. farmers, this means relying on China as the dominant export partner may be over— at least for now.
A Shift to Value-Added Soy
With soybeans under pressure, the U. S. industry is increasingly looking for new opportunities.
According to Ruhland, the U. S. will need to make a strategic shift to include expansion of value-added processing domestically – which includes more soy animal feed than exported as high-quality U. S. animal protein, especially to emerging protein economies in Asia and Africa.
“ Another key factor will be growing U. S. soybean meal and oil demand in biofuels,” she added.
Soybean oil is a primary ingredient in renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. These markets create new domestic demand by also stabilizing prices by reducing dependence on export fluctuations.
“ Longer-term strategy now centers on being the soybean‘ supplier of choice’ through reliability, sustainability and logistical efficiency rather than dominant volume to a single buyer,” Ruhland said.
This shift could mean U. S. soybeans increasingly leave the country as protein, fuel or other refined goods. This would be a major step forward from exporting in bulk to producing valueadded products instead.
Looking Ahead
In the future, Ruhland believes the U. S. soybean industry’ s resilience will depend on strategic investment and adaptability. Building new global relationships, expanding domestic processing and reinforcing the supply chain are all crucial steps.
But China shouldn’ t be ignored. Rebuilding and maintaining that relationship will be essential. The difference now is that U. S. soybeans no longer depend on one market to survive.
Ruhland summed it up well: this period of disruption has also been one of the most productive transformations in U. S. soybean history. The industry’ s response of innovation, sustainability and diversification, is not just about recovering lost sales. It’ s about redesigning the future of American soy for a multipolar world.
Farmers Takeaway
• Diversify buyers— look to feed, biofuel, or local processing co-ops.
• Invest in storage— timing matters more than ever.
• Track emerging markets like Egypt, Vietnam, and Mexico.
November 2025 | www. FarmersHotLine. com | 11