The US soybean harvest is underway and in rural Maryland, farmer Travis Hutchison cracks open a pod to show how a field is nearly dry enough for reaping.

But a decent yield is not enough to secure his income this year -- with China, once the biggest buyer of US soybean exports, halting orders in a trade row triggered by President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs.

Soybean prices "are really depressed because of the trade war," Hutchison told AFP. His family tills 3,400 acres of soybeans, corn and other crops.

"I wasn't against the president trying it, because I think we needed better trade deals," added the 54-year-old of Trump's policies.

But he expressed disappointment at how things played out: "I was hoping it would get resolved sooner."

Hutchison is among American farmers -- a key support base for Trump -- reeling from the trade impasse.

The world's second biggest economy in 2024 bought more than half the $24.5 billion in US soybean exports.

But exports to China have fallen by over 50 percent in value this year, and Chinese buyers have held off on new soybean........

© International Business Times