And in the United States, trade tensions with China continue to impact farmers. Some have been forced to write off their soybean crops, due to a combination of bad weather, a lack of storage and a distressed market. CGTN's Dan Williams has this report from Illinois.  

With harvest out of the way and with the winter weather having arrived, there is little left for Fred Grieder to do on his Illinois farm this year. He enjoyed a bumper yield this harvest. Those extra bushels were vital, given the price of soybeans has now plunged to below the cost of production following the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. But Grieder knows other farmers will not be as lucky.

FRED GRIEDER ILLINOIS FARMER "It's hard to be optimistic especially in the short term, with the inventories we've been carrying. This is just the last straw so to speak with the trade issues."

DAN WILLIAMS BELLFLOWER, ILLINOIS "Another issue for farmers this year is storage capacity. This farm in central Illinois can store almost all of its entire harvest. But other farms are less fortunate."

In Louisiana this year, farmers are expected to lose as much as 15 % of soybean crops. Some farmers have had to bury some of their crops under the ground. This is a pile of rotted soybeans. Bad weather during harvest combined with a lack of storage facilities and a depressed market has led many farmers to simply write off their crop. Although the situation is better in Illinois, some farmers are still working out ways to navigate those issues.

DOUG SCHROEDER ILLINOIS FARMER "Storage is really a problem right now. Some farmers have even gone to storing soybeans in bags on top of the ground. They are big ten thousand bushel bags. It is a little more tricky but people are scrambling to figure out how to store soybeans in any way shape or form hoping for a rally."

The extra pressure on U.S. agriculture is a concern for the Illinois Farm Bureau, who now fear an increase in the number of farmers who will decide to simply throw in the towel.

MIKE DOHERTY, SENIOR ECONOMIST ILLINOIS FARM BUREAU "What we are expecting to see this winter is an increase in farm sales. And probably an increase in the percentage of those that are more or less involuntary sales. For those farms that have to make that decision, it is a very dark day for that family."

Ahead of the holiday season for many U.S. farmers, there is very little in the way of festive cheer. Dan Williams, CGTN, Bellflower, Illinois.