SALEM, S.D. (WNAX) – With China buying less United States soybeans due to the trade war, the soybean industry is using Ag Trade Promotion dollars to expand existing and develop new markets. Dawn and Pat Schier (Shy-er) of Salem hosted a group of grain buyers from southeast Asia at their farm Wednesday as part of a trade mission organized by the U.S. Soybean Export Council.

Schier says with China nearly out of the soybean market other customers are making up some of the shortfall, but they want to build on that. It’s critical since most of the beans going to China came from the northern plains.

She says they want to show the buyers the journey the soybean takes from her farm to their door and that the U.S. is a reliable supplier of soybeans.

The mission was funded through export promotion dollars in the first trade aid package. The trade team also spent time on farms in North Dakota and will now travel to the Pacific Northwest to see the logistics of how soybeans from this area get to their country.