Bumper harvests have been pressuring crop prices and farmers are reeling from high costs for fertilizer and other inputs. What's more, China, the largest soybean importer, has responded to President Donald Trump's trade tariffs this year by turning to South America, depriving US farmers of their primary market.
Farmers put crops in storage
Many farmers are putting soybeans into storage in hopes of getting better prices down the road, growers and analysts said, leaving fewer supplies available to major US processors.
ADM's offer, known as free deferred pricing, will be available to farmers until the end of October, and those who participate have until September 2026 to set a sale price, according to the company employee.
"That tells me they need beans, that they don't have enough beans to keep their process running," said David Isermann, a farmer in Streator, Illinois, who will not take part in ADM's program.
Farmers said ADM's offer was unusual because processors typically have access to plentiful supplies during harvest time.
This year, farmers had agreed to sell less of their crop than normal heading into harvest season, Miranda Wamsley, ADM's vice president of producer origination, said in an interview last month. She did not provide specific amounts.
Some farmers said they normally market about half of their expected crops by the time harvest begins but had sold about 20% or less this year.
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