Why The U.S. Is Now Obsessed With Soybeans

A bushel is a unit of volume commonly used in the United States to measure dry agricultural commodities like soybeans. One bushel of soybeans is equivalent to 60 pounds or approximately 27.22 kilograms.

Thousand of years of human crop production .... and we are shocked that crop rotation works?!

finding an alternative market is basically impossible for soybean, because most of them were used to feed pigs, and China consumes nearly half of total pork consumed annually in the world. After 2018, China shift the purchase to south America, causing Brazilian soybean export and production skyrocketing.

The picture at 1:11 demonstrated a decrease, but that is simply because US imposing tariff on china. Now you are narrating it as if china ‘s fault?

Brazil: "Hold my beer". The country invested heavily in technology and today has the highest yelds in the world. It's not only "because of China". Brazil also uses a lot of soy as animal food.

Brazil really took advantage of the trade situation to scale up this important animal feedstock crop. Brazil is already one of the biggest meat exporters in the world and soybeans help vertically supplement that industry, because of high prices driven by demand from China. Of course that often comes at the expense of the Amazon rainforest. At 60% of world demand, China is the big swing customer. India doesn't consume much beef or pork for religious reasons both Hindu and Muslim, and chickens doesn't eat that much soybean vs. pigs and cows. And biodiesel isn't a price competitive alternative to fossil fuel without subsidies, and has to be mixed at a low ratio for current engines.

I wonder if future farmers will think old farmers were dumb for planting mostly subsidized crops. 🤣

Start a trade war with your biggest trading partner. The partner looks for another source of supply. Basic economics - more suppliers than the demand.

I like how the US started the trade war, and then claimed China turned away from US.

Let's not forget the amount of fuel that goes into growing and processing soybeans into fuel, making them less sustainable and renewable than they are marketed as...

It's the worst edible oil . Everyone should try to avoid it

they want to avoid having all their beans in one basket but they won't ever consider that you could fill the basket with something else. Diversification needs to happen from the demand side as well as the supply side. The analogy of the basket is also not limited to the consumer, the basket is also the producers portfolio or land if you will. You may be able to sell soybeans to someone else but if something happens and you lose all your soybeans or if nobody wants soybeans then you're out of luck unless the government bails you out.

What was the U.S rationale behind a trade war with china? Then subsidize those same farmers hurt by it? What was reason and subsequent outcome for this act?

The US trade war against China has been self-defeating, and there is no end in sight as both parties think the path to success if to contain the inevitable rise of China instead of using that as an opportunity to make the US more competitive. You don't win customer by poking then in the eye every chance you get and then putting your hand out.

Every crisis has silver lining. Soybean trade disruptions forced countries to develop alternatives supply/uses which is good for diversification.

5:37 whilst the trade sanctions would have an effect on soybean exports to China, one should look at the bigger picture. It'd also be interesting to investigate the subsequent rise from 2019 then on

Why not cooperating with china to build a better world? Not just to contain china?

So no talk on Monsanto's GMO stranglehold on the soybean market?

Shift the production to rice. Consumption is still increasing while production is almost max out.

Why does US pick a fight with the largest market for agriculture while the farmers were supporting the fight? Make you think that most farmers are not thinking clearly. Or maybe they are extremely smart because at the end of the day, the most cash comes in the mail through government handouts.