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In September 2025, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig urged the United States to pursue more agricultural export markets as trade tensions threatened soybean sales to China. He pointed to India as a possible buyer of soybean meal, while acknowledging that many markets might be needed to approach China’s former scale. He also remained hopeful that U.S.-China negotiations would restore soybean exports. Those were remarks about conditions at the time—not a description of current trade flows.
What Naig said in September 2025
Naig spoke at a September 17 news conference at Maxwell Custom Beef in Des Moines, where he announced nine Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grants totaling $355,000 for equipment upgrades and facility improvements at small-scale meat processors. Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that, with harvest approaching, Naig said soybean prices were below where farmers wanted them and cited high costs for land, equipment, seeds, and fuel. He framed the response as both lowering farm input costs and increasing demand for Iowa products; those were his diagnosis and recommendations, not an independent economic measurement.
Naig argued that exporters should look beyond China even though replacing its scale could require many buyers. “Just remember: this is a global marketplace,” he said. He identified India as a possible opportunity specifically for soybean meal, rather than claiming it could replace all Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans. He also said he hoped negotiations with China would lead to soybean exports.
Why he pointed to India—and why diversification is not a simple replacement
Naig and Governor Kim Reynolds had recently returned from an eight-day Iowa delegation mission to India. The September report said trade discussions began with an Iowa delegation visit in 2024 and included roundtables with the U.S. Soybean Export Council and U.S. Grains Council. His India example concerned soybean meal, a distinct product from whole soybeans.
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The broader argument was about reducing dependence on one large buyer, not identifying a single market that could immediately substitute for China. Naig said many markets might add up to China’s former role. The September report did not quantify how much any prospective market could absorb, or establish a formal comparison of replacement markets. Diversification may widen the set of potential buyers, but the remarks alone do not establish how quickly trade could shift or what prices farmers would receive.
What changed after the September report
On October 30, 2025, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said a U.S.-China trade announcement included China’s commitment to buy 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans that season and at least 25 million tons per year for the following three years. These were announced commitments, not verified deliveries. Naig welcomed the news while reiterating the importance of expanding markets and increasing domestic use, especially for homegrown biofuels. The announcement added a later development; it does not change what Naig said on September 17.
On November 25, 2025, the Iowa Economic Development Authority reported that Naig and a 12-member delegation had returned from a trade mission to Vietnam and Indonesia. The delegation promoted Iowa corn, soybeans, pork, beef, and biofuels. The release said the mission involved Iowa commodity groups and work with the U.S. Grains Council, U.S. Meat Export Federation, U.S. Soybean Export Council, and USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.
| Measure | Reported 2024 value | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. agricultural purchases by Vietnam | More than $4.5 billion | U.S. agricultural sales bought by Vietnam; USDA and WISERTrade figures cited by IEDA in its 2025 release. |
| U.S. agricultural purchases by Indonesia | $3.8 billion | U.S. agricultural sales bought by Indonesia; USDA and WISERTrade figures cited by IEDA in its 2025 release. |
| Iowa agricultural exports to Vietnam | Approximately $223.4 million | Iowa-origin agricultural exports; USDA and WISERTrade figures cited by IEDA in its 2025 release. |
| Iowa agricultural exports to Indonesia | Approximately $297.6 million | Iowa-origin agricultural exports; USDA and WISERTrade figures cited by IEDA in its 2025 release. |
These 2024 figures describe different geographies: national U.S. purchases and Iowa exports. They show the scale of trade with the two countries in that year, but do not isolate soybeans or soybean meal, and do not by themselves show how much additional demand a trade mission created.
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What the trade debate means for Iowa farmers
Naig’s September message connected export demand with farm costs: seek buyers for Iowa products while working to reduce the expenses farmers face. His public remarks did not promise that new markets would offset lower soybean prices, quantify potential savings, or demonstrate that the proposed approach had succeeded. For farmers and readers following the issue, the key distinction is between market-development efforts, announced purchase commitments, and completed exports; they are different stages of trade, not interchangeable evidence.
Naig has served as Iowa’s agriculture secretary since his election in November 2018 and reelection in November 2022, according to the state department’s biography. The biography lists market expansion and trade among his stated priorities; that is official context, not evidence of the outcome of a particular policy.
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Sources and dates
- Iowa Capital Dispatch, September 17, 2025 — Naig’s remarks, the Des Moines event, the India visit, and the trade conditions described at publication.
- Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship biography — Naig’s election history and stated priorities.
- Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, October 30, 2025 — the later U.S.-China announcement and Naig’s response.
- Iowa Economic Development Authority, November 25, 2025 — the Vietnam and Indonesia mission and its cited 2024 trade figures.
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