Taiwan soybean buyers visiting southern Minnesota farm amid tough season

A farm in Minnesota is hosting soybean buyers from Taiwan on Monday. The visit comes at a time when farmers in the state have been struggling due to rising costs and tariffs.

Soybeans are Minnesota's number one agricultural export. Six buyers toured Matt Purfeerst's family farm just outside of Faribault, which dates back to the 1850s. Managers of the site showed off some of their latest equipment.

It hasn't been easy for farmers like Purfeerst. He says fertilizer prices spiked because of the war with Iran. On top of that, he says they had a mini drought in July.

A 2025 deal with the Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association is set to net up to $4.2 billion worth of U.S. soybeans over four years. That should give some relief. 

"The more we can export, the better off we are. It just prevents that backlog; it helps just get those beans out of the U.S., get them into these guys' hands," Purfeerst said. "They'll crush them for their population. Helps them as well, too, right? I mean, they want to import our beans, right, so how can we kind of bridge that gap? At the end of the day, it's just a win-win for everybody when we can increase our sales."

The farm is expected to have a pretty decent crop, but it won't be record-setting by any means.

The buyers from Taiwan are planning to go to a Minnesota Twins game on Monday night.