Editorial: Illinois grows more soybeans than any other state. What happened to the Republican support?

Chicago Tribune

12-05-2025

Back when Republicans were a mighty political force in Illinois, one of the party's great unifiers was the humble soybean. Illinois produces more of these fuzzy legumes than any other state, and the GOP could be counted on to support local farmers who want, above all, a healthy market for this lucrative cash crop.
Fast forward to 2025, and a University of Illinois research hub that spreads the gospel of soybeans around the world narrowly escaped extinction last month, no thanks to today's Republican Party.
The Soybean Innovation Lab in downstate Urbana is among a group of 19 agriculture research laboratories at land-grant universities around the country. Their work traditionally has won strong bipartisan support. For good reason: This U. of I. lab specializes in building a market for U.S.-grown soybeans in fast-growing countries where no market previously existed.
Soybean markets are made, not born. Big swaths of the developing world have no experience with the crop. They have no proper storage for it, or the capability to crush it into high-protein soy meal and cooking oil.
In the African country of Malawi, for instance, the Innovation Lab has launched a promising project encouraging small-time farmers who mostly produce subsistence crops like cassava and cowpeas to diversify into soybeans. The lab works with both local and international companies to develop know-how and facilities.
Once private enterprise is positioned to take over, the population of Malawi can start to consume more and more soybeans. The development helps to lift the country out of poverty and, over time, opens it to U.S. exports of a crop that Malawi can't currently put to good use.
Peter Goldsmith, a U. of I. professor who runs the lab, told us at a recent meeting that he regularly gets asked to explain the long-range thinking that goes into developing new markets for American crops. 'I work very closely with Illinois and U.S. growers,' he said. 'We de-risk the market and then the private sector follows on.'
The lab relied on funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, one of President Donald Trump's top targets in his stated effort to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. In January, Goldsmith was put on notice that a review would be undertaken. 'We thought, 'It's soybeans!'' he said. 'What we're doing is highly recognized as consistent with U.S. government interests. I felt nothing was going to happen.'
In February, it happened. Although no review specific to his program occurred, Goldsmith got a letter saying his work no longer matched U.S. interests. He lost access to millions of government dollars that had been pledged to the lab and had no choice but to stop everything and dismiss the staff. 'That was a gut punch.'
Then came another twist: In March, as the lab prepared to close for good, Goldsmith got a reprieve. An anonymous donor made a seven-figure gift to keep it going, via Founders Pledge, a London-based charity that connects entrepreneurs with worthy causes. The donor is a private company in Europe with a strong philanthropic arm but no connection to soybeans. It probably heard about the lab's plight from media accounts by the Tribune's Dan Petrella and others.
The $1.02 million gift, about 30% of the lab's previous annual budget, was enough to rehire a few key employees and complete the investment in Malawi that otherwise would have been wasted — with plants in the ground left to rot and an August investor tour canceled. That private donors stepped in here is an encouraging silver lining. In a perfect world, this is a preferable form of funding.
Today, the tour is back on, and already it is attracting food processors interested in putting their private funds into building infrastructure once the seeds of the program are planted, Goldsmith told us. 'The industry wants to switch over to soy. They want U.S. crops. Demand is crazy good.'
Unfortunately, the donor's funding runs only through next April, and the related labs at other land-grant universities have found no one to save their programs, Goldsmith said. Soybeans and other U.S. cash crops evidently will be left to fend for themselves on the global stage.
No one needs to tell us that Uncle Sam must cut spending. The federal budget deficits piling up are unsustainable. Something's got to give. What's painful is seeing Republican lawmakers who for decades have been among agriculture's biggest supporters selling out the future of American farming.
The current trade war is sure to help America's competitors, especially in South America. During Trump's first term, his disputes with China opened the door for Brazil to dramatically expand its soybean production, and U.S. exports never recovered to their previous levels.
In response, the U.S. government funneled tens of billions in direct payments to farmers and landowners hurt by its protectionist policies. They in turn overwhelmingly supported Trump in the November election, and Congress in December committed to spending an extra $10 billion in farm aid this year. That's probably just a down payment on whatever huge amount farmers will receive when the dust clears.
So instead of the government investing in programs that will help Midwest agriculture retain its hard-won global dominance, farmers will be getting the equivalent of welfare for the rich while their long-term prospects diminish by the day.
Ask practically any of Illinois' row-crop farmers or landowners, and they will tell you that if Uncle Sam is handing out fat checks, they'd be fools not to cash them. But let's be clear: America's soybean farmers are losing ground. At this rate, Illinois won't be the soybean capital of the world forever, and the state will be poorer for the loss.