Greenville, Illinois — It's prime harvest season in southern Illinois, but for soybean farmers like Scott Gaffner, what's usually a time of reward has turned into worry.

"The great majority of [soybeans] coming from this area would be going to China," Gaffner said, but "not this year."

China is the largest consumer of soybeans. The country purchased $12.6 billion worth of soybeans from the U.S. in 2014, compared to $2.45 billion bought by the European Union, federal data from the Department of Agriculture shows. As harvest season gets underway this year, China has made no soybean purchases from American farmers amid the ongoing trade war .

Gaffner says farmers like himself, who overwhelmingly voted for President Trump, are caught in the crossfire.

"We can't help but fee

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