The secretary’s claim that “I’m actually a soybean farmer” sparked an online meme and commentator frenzy that skewered the 63-year-old Ivy League graduate.
President Trump lowers some tariffs on China after summit meeting with President Xi
President Donald Trump said after his South Korean summit with President Xi Jinping that China would buy U.S. soybeans and curb fentanyl exports.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is no longer in the soybean business, and the details of his $12.4 million sale are now public.
Mr. Bessent raised eyebrows in late October when he told ABC’s Martha Raddatz that he too was feeling the pain of the agricultural trade war with China. “I’m actually a soybean farmer,” he said.
The claim sparked a frenzy of online memes and commentators skewering the 63-year-old Ivy League graduate who rolled up his sleeves and ignited the combine.
In fact, Bessent disclosed early in the Trump administration that he owns thousands of acres of farmland in North Dakota through a limited liability partnership. He planned to sell these holdings by April 28, 90 days after taking office.
In August, government ethics officials warned in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee that the land would have to be sold because the secretary was not complying with regulations. “The assets are illiquid and cannot be easily brought to market,” said Bessent, a finance official in charge of ethics.
The August letter said Bessent would be “removed from certain matters affecting these assets.” But that was just a few weeks before Mr. Bessent flew to Malaysia to meet with his Chinese counterpart and hammer out the framework for an agreement that crucially included purchases of U.S. soybeans.
In early December, he announced in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that he was finally done being a farmer. “I run a soybean farm,” he told host Margaret Brennan, who was quick to point out that he was invested in the farm.
“People in my family are out there working on this work. In fact, I just sold my company this week as part of an ethics agreement, so I’m stepping away from that work,” Bessent said.
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden criticized the slow divestment process in a statement to USA TODAY this week.
“The purpose of requiring federal authorities to sign and abide by these agreements is to demonstrate that those in power are putting the interests of the American people ahead of their own interests,” Wyden said. “This deeply corrupt administration makes a mockery of ethics as a systemic issue, so it’s no surprise that Mr. Bessent has trivialized legally binding ethics agreements.”
Soybean prices soared from $9.80 a bushel to $11.12 a bushel in late October after the trade deal with China was announced.
The Trump administration also announced a $12 billion relief plan for farmers on December 8th.
So who bought Scott Bessent’s soybean farm?
Records obtained by USA TODAY reveal a deal that resolved a conflict of interest for the Treasury secretary, who plays a direct role in negotiations with China to buy 12.5 million tons of soybeans.
For many years, Bessent’s husband, John Freeman, was listed as a managing partner in a corporation called High Plains Acres LLP, along with Scott Bradford of Victoria, Minn.
The company owns more than 5,000 acres across 23 parcels in six North Dakota counties, according to its most recent annual report filed with state regulators. The property earns him hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in rent and profit sharing, according to Bessent’s ethics disclosure form.
To clear ethical hurdles, Bessent said in a December disclosure statement that he had difficulty selling the farmland “due to illiquidity,” but would do so by Dec. 15 at the latest.
Sure enough, on December 15th, the recorder’s offices of six small towns in North Dakota received the paperwork to sell everything. Over 5,000 Acres from High Plains Acres to another company called Glacial Ridge LLP.
Glacial Ridge, which was founded just days earlier, is managed by the same Scott Bradford and his wife, Lynn Bradford, according to state filings. They paid more than $12 million for the farmland, or about $2,300 per acre.
According to an investigation by Agweek magazine, farmland in central-eastern North Dakota, where Mr. Bessent owned parcels, went from an average of $1,981 an acre in 2018 to $3,413 an acre in 2025. This means his business partner got the deal.
Bradford is Bessent’s longtime friend and former roommate at Yale University. Mr. Bessent graduated from the school in 1984. According to an archived database, Mr. Bradford played as a forward on the Yale University hockey team from 1981 to 1985. The school confirmed that he graduated in 1985 with degrees in political science and economics.
Bradford received a call from a reporter, but he hung up without answering any questions.
Mr. Bessent’s office confirmed that he had signed the necessary ethics documents and sold all of the properties in question. His spokesperson declined to answer questions about his relationship with family members who helped harvest the soybeans or with the Bradford family. Ms. Bessent’s husband, Mr. Freeman, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
At Yale, Bessent lost the job of editor of the student newspaper, the Yale Daily News. He told the alumni magazine that this was the turning point when he switched from wanting to be a journalist to thinking about becoming a wealth manager.
Coincidentally, the student paper’s publisher at the time was Steven Mnuchin, who served as President Trump’s first Treasury secretary from 2017 to 2021.
