U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has confirmed that he no longer holds an interest in his soybean farm, addressing a pending issue in his federal ethics agreement. The move comes after months of pressure from oversight bodies and questions around potential conflicts of interest, particularly given his role in overseeing economic policy that directly impacts American farmers.

"I actually just divested it this week as part of my ethics agreement. So I'm out of that business," Bessent said in a Sunday interview on CBS' Face the Nation, where he was discussing the state of U.S. agricultural trade under the Trump administration. The comment was a direct response to public scrutiny over his continued financial ties to farmland amid ongoing tariff policy debates.

According to prior reporting, Bessent owned up to $25 million in soybean and corn farmland in North Dakota, earning as much as $1 million annually in rental income. The holdings became a focal point after an August 11 letter from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics to the Senate Finance Committee revealed that Bessent had not fully complied with all divestiture deadlines outlined in his ethics agreement signed in January 2025.

That agreement required Bessent to relinquish control of his Key Square Group hedge fund and various real assets, with a target completion date of April 28, 2025. In an August statement, the Treasury Department said Bessent had completed 96% of his required divestitures and was committed to offloading the remaining holdings by year's end.

While Bessent's decision may ease concerns over direct financial conflicts, his deep ties to the agricultural industry and ongoing influence over tariff policies, commodity markets, and farm-related trade agreements are likely to keep him under close watch. For U.S. agriculture professionals-from producers and co-ops to agribusiness investors-this development may clarify one ethical gray area but does little to shift the larger policy landscape he helps shape.