China Buys U.S. Soybeans Again: 1.36 Million Metric Tons in Three Days, USDA Flash Sales Show
The Morning Harvest: Farm and Food News | No. 012 | Monday, October 19, 2026
Today in 30 seconds
Soybeans: USDA flash sales show about 1.36 million metric tons sold to China from October 14 to 16, 2026, yet futures barely moved.
Recalls: Kayem Foods is recalling about 1.58 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry, and Lidl is recalling one lot of Gelatelli gelato for Listeria.
Strawberries: Shipping point prices are mostly $14 to $16 a flat while the advertised shelf price slipped to $3.01 a pound, or $24.08 a flat (USDA, October 16).
In season: Navel oranges at $1.44 a pound (mostly $29.10 to $32.75 a carton at the shipping point for the bigger sizes), mandarins and kale, with a note on what you can plant now.
Could you grow this? Peaches: chill hours, spacing, and the soil test to do this month.
Garden State: Rutgers found a yeast that makes a blueberry pest lay far fewer eggs.
Why is China buying U.S. soybeans again, and what does it mean?
USDA publishes any single-day sale of 100,000 metric tons or more of one commodity to one destination, called flash sales (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service). China, 2026/27 delivery:
October 14: 470,000 metric tons
October 15: 12.1 million bushels, about 329,000 metric tons
October 16: 20.5 million bushels, or 558,000 metric tons
Three-day China total: 1.358 million metric tons
Bloomberg, via Briefs, reports the buyers are state-owned firms (unnamed sources) booking at least 20 cargoes. U.S. soybeans face a 13 percent tariff in China, including an extra 10 percent levy, versus 3 percent for Brazil (S&P Global and Reuters, via Farm Policy News). Reuters says private buyers stay away. Reporters link the purchases to the September 24, 2026 summit in Washington between President Trump and President Xi (American Action Forum). The target is 25 million metric tons a year; Reuters counted 13.7 million bought by October 14 and about 15 million by October 16.
November soybeans closed Friday near $12.61 a bushel (Brownfield), down 2.8 percent on the week (Bloomberg). Harvest was 46 percent done, and USDA's October 9 outlook has a record 4.562 billion bushel crop.
What to do: Farmers, watch USDA's weekly Export Sales Report, released Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. ET and the next WASDE, USDA's crop outlook, on November 10, 2026. Landowners who lease: Farm Bureau, citing NASS, puts average cash rent at $160 an acre.
Sources: USDA FAS, Export Sales Reporting Program; Farm Policy News, Oct. 16; Bloomberg via Briefs, Oct. 16; Reuters via 1027wbow, Oct. 14; Price Group, Oct. 16; AgBull, Oct. 14; Business Recorder, Oct. 19; Farm Progress flash sales; Brownfield, Oct. 16; USDA WASDE, Oct. 9; Farm Bureau, Aug. 4; American Action Forum, Sept. 24
Which meat and gelato products are being recalled right now?
Kayem Foods (USDA FSIS, announced Saturday, October 17, 2026). Kayem Foods Inc. of Chelsea, Massachusetts is recalling about 1,584,361 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry, such as hot dogs, sausage, and bacon, under the Kayem, al fresco, and McKenzie names and other brands. Production ran about March 31 to October 7, 2026. On October 1, a retail customer reported warm product at delivery, and the company found a warehouse cooler had temperature deviations. Distribution was nationwide through retail, club, and food service. No confirmed illnesses. Marks of inspection: EST. M/P 7839, EST. P 20935A, EST. M 9520.
Lidl US (FDA notice, announced October 16, posted October 17). Gelatelli Coffee & Vanilla Gelato, 16 fl oz tub, UPC 4 0564897 22458, lot 085261, best by MAR/26/2028, sold July 19 to October 15 in nine states and D.C. (including New Jersey). Routine testing found Listeria monocytogenes. No illnesses reported. The FDA notice says Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
What to do: Do not eat either product. Discard it or return it to the store; Lidl offers a refund with no receipt. Check Kayem items at fsis.usda.gov/recalls. Questions: USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 888-674-6854, or Lidl Customer Care (844) 747-5435, Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
Sources: Food Safety News, Oct. 17; WGCU, Oct. 17; Daily Voice, Oct. 18; FDA Lidl notice
Why are strawberry prices rising at the farm while the store price slipped?
A "flat" of strawberries is eight 1-pound containers. FOB (free on board) is the price at the packing shed, before freight and retail markup. In USDA's FOB Review for October 16, 2026, conventional strawberries were mostly $14 to $16 a flat in Oxnard and Santa Maria and $12 to $14 in Salinas-Watsonville. USDA's October 14 trends report called prices higher in all three districts.
In USDA's National Retail Report, also October 16, a 1-pound package was advertised at $3.01, down from $3.23 last week and $3.17 a year ago. That is $24.08 a flat (8 x $3.01), so shipping point is roughly 55 to 65 percent of the advertised price. This compares a one-day farm range with an average of stores running a feature.
A distributor report (Buyers Edge, October 15) says Santa Maria volume is down about 25 to 35 percent, Watsonville and Salinas keep declining, and supply should stay tight into November, improving in December as Florida and Mexico add acreage.
What to do: Buy when the ad is near $3 a pound or less. Check for softness, and freeze extra berries. Organic is mostly $20 to $22 a flat shipping point, versus $14 to $16 conventional.
Sources: USDA FOB Review, Oct. 16; USDA National Retail Report, Oct. 16; USDA Shipping Point Trends, Oct. 14; Buyers Edge, Oct. 15
What fruits and vegetables are in season in late October?
USDA National Retail Report, October 16, 2026 (advertised prices, this week versus last week):
Navel oranges (California and Arizona): $1.44 a pound versus $1.62; 3-pound bag $5.25. Shipping point (USDA FOB Review, October 16): 7/10 bushel carton, Shippers First Grade, sizes 40s to 56s mostly $29.10 to $32.75; 72s mostly $27.10 to $30.10; 88s mostly $25.50 to $28.10. California's navel forecast is 84.0 million cartons, up 4 million (CDFA/NASS, Sept. 11). UC Extension: choose fruit firm and heavy for its size; commercial oranges keep 3 to 8 weeks refrigerated.
Mandarins: 3-pound bag $4.71 versus $4.52; $1.56 a pound. Shipping point listings are imports from Chile and Peru for now, a carton of ten 3-pound bags mostly $28 to $30. California forecasts 38 million 40-pound cartons.
Kale (California's Central Coast): 1-pound bag $2.99; $1.03 a pound. North Carolina Extension: greens keep up to a week refrigerated.
You can grow kale: NC Extension says spring and early fall are best, with baby leaves in 20 to 30 days and mature leaves in 50 to 75 days. Arkansas Extension says it tolerates a light freeze. Satsumas grow on the Gulf Coast and in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin valley (UF/IFAS), and Mississippi State recommends only the Washington navel orange outdoors on the Gulf Coast, in a protected spot.
What to do: Buy navels this week while the ad price is down. In the South or milder West, sow kale now; up north, use a cover.
Sources: USDA National Retail Report; USDA FOB Review; UC ANR; USDA NASS, California navel forecast, Sept. 11; Citrus Industry, Oct. 2; FreshPlaza, Sept. 15; NC Extension; Arkansas Extension; UF/IFAS; Mississippi State
Can you grow peaches at home?
Yes, with patience and the right variety.
Yield: Penn State Extension lists 3 to 5 bushels per tree for trees at least 10 years old. Other extension estimates range from 30 to 60 pounds (dwarf, UConn) to 150 to 250 pounds (Missouri).
Timeline: Oklahoma State: bearing begins in year three, full production by year five.
Spacing: 18 to 20 feet for standard trees, 12 to 15 feet for semi-dwarf (UGA).
Sun and soil: 8 to 10 hours of sun, well-drained soil, pH 6.0 to 6.5.
Chill hours: hours between 32 and 45 F; UGA warns low-chill varieties can bloom early and suffer freeze losses.
Frost: avoid low spots where cold air pools.
What to do this month: Get a soil test. Plant bare-root trees from December to March (Clemson: early December to mid March; UGA: December to February). In the Northeast, apply copper for leaf curl after leaf drop (Penn State). In the West, UC lists December 1 and February 1.
For help picking varieties and a site for your land, see the consulting service below.
Sources: Penn State, yield table; Penn State, leaf curl; UGA C1063; Oklahoma State; Clemson; UC home orchard; UConn; Missouri G6005; Alabama Extension
How could a kitchen accident help protect New Jersey blueberries from spotted-wing drosophila?
Rutgers researchers, led by postdoctoral researcher Beth Ferguson with lab director Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, found that a yeast makes spotted-wing drosophila avoid laying eggs. They saw it after common vinegar flies overran the team's breeding colonies near a center kitchen. The yeast attracts vinegar flies but repels the pest, which laid "far fewer" eggs (Rutgers, October 15, 2026; journal: Applied and Environmental Microbiology). Spotted-wing drosophila was first found in New Jersey in 2011 and lays eggs in intact ripening fruit.
New Jersey blueberries in 2025 (USDA NASS): 10,900 acres harvested, 47.5 million pounds utilized production, worth $94.4 million. On NASS's state table (total production 48.5 million pounds), New Jersey sits seventh by our reading of the table order; Rutgers does not state a rank.
It is lab stage: field testing is needed, and regulatory approval can take years, according to Ferguson.
What to do: Nothing to buy yet. Berry growers anywhere can ask a state extension fruit specialist about local spotted-wing drosophila timing. New Jersey growers can watch the Rutgers Plant and Pest Advisory.
Sources: Rutgers SEBS/NJAES, Oct. 15; USDA NASS Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2025 Summary
From the farm
[ANGELO: two or three sentences on what you are doing on the farm today and why]
Want to stop mowing grass and start growing fruit?
If you own land anywhere in the country and want to turn it into a producing orchard, vineyard, or berry planting, reach out about the backyard fruit service. Angelo J. Grinceri III is a working regenerative blackberry farmer in Hammonton, New Jersey (Curated Nature). Full installation and ongoing management are local to Southern New Jersey, and remote consulting and design-only plans are available to landowners anywhere.
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