By Cassandra Stephenson
Crops are in the ground, the weather is cooperating, soybean prices are up slightly from 2025, and China — the biggest buyer of U.S. soybean exports — is once again placing orders after a trade agreement ended the country’s purchasing freeze last fall.
But while morale is higher among soybean farmers as the 2026 growing season gets underway, the cost to plant crops remains high, and U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows there is still a long way to go before China’s purchases reach pre-trade war levels.
“There have been some positive movements in trade relations with China, specifically with soybeans, that have caused markets to improve over last year,” said Stefan Maupin, executive director of the Tennessee Soybean Promotion Council. “However, we are definitely not where we were in years past. For most farmers out there, the big question in front of them is, will it get back?”
Soybeans are a major agricultural product nationwide, covering about 10% of all U.S. farmland. Roughly 40% of U.S. soybeans are exported, and in recent years, around half of exported beans went to China.
Soybeans are the second-largest agricultural product in Mississippi behind chickens. Valued at around $1.6 billion a year, almost all of the state’s soybeans are destined for international markets. The state ranked 11th in U.S. soybean production in 2025, producing 97 million bushels on 1.7 million acres, according to the Mississippi State University Extension Service and USDA.
Will Maples, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said some markets have shown modest improvement this winter, including a 27% increase in soybean planting projections.
“We have seen a decent rally in soybean and cotton prices this winter. Margins are still expected to be tight, but things are slightly better,” Maples said in an April 8 Extension Service report. “Last year, tariff uncertainty weighed on soybean prices and contributed to reduced acreage in Mississippi. This winter, soybean prices have strengthened, making them more competitive relative to other crops.”
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