Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that he sold off his holdings tied to thousands of acres of North Dakota soybean farmland last week, distancing himself from assets that could present conflicts of interest.

He leads President Donald Trump's trade negotiations with China, including on Beijing's purchase of U.S. soybeans. 

"I actually just divested it this week as part of my ethics agreement, so I'm out of that business, but I probably know more about any Treasury secretary than agriculture since the 1800s," Bessent told CBS News' "Face the Nation." 

He added that farmers need certainty, "and we have put that in place with this trade deal, [with] 12 and a half million metric tons this year, 25 million metric tons for the next three years, for soybeans, also sorghum, and lumber." 

Bessent's divestment came nearly eight months after he was first expected to unload the assets, reported The New York Times. 

According to federal ethics rules, certain officials are required to divest investments that could affect their government work. 

Bessent, who has described himself as a soybean farmer, faced criticism earlier this year from ethics watchdogs for not selling the farmland sooner.

The government's ethics watchdog agency wrote to the Senate Finance Committee to warn that Bessent was not in compliance with his agreement. 

Treasury Department ethics officials said at the time that the land had not been sold because the holdings were "illiquid and are not readily marketable." 

Bessent had pledged to divest by Dec. 15.

Financial disclosure forms show Bessent owned as much as $25 million in North Dakota soybean and corn farmland. 

The properties span thousands of acres across Burleigh, Kidder, Eddy, Benson, and Wells counties and generated up to $1 million a year in rental income.

The farmland was held through a limited liability partnership called High Plains Acres. In the most recent filing with the North Dakota's secretary of State's office, Bessent's husband, John Freeman, was listed as a managing partner. 

An office official said Friday there were no additional filings that would reflect a change in management.

Details of the divestment were not immediately clear. The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment, and the Office of Government Ethics did not respond or post a filing indicating Bessent had returned to compliance.

Bessent said Sunday that while he invested in the land, relatives worked it, and he said he understands farmers' pressures. He said certainty matters most, adding that the trade deal provides it.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said last week that President Donald Trump will be announcing a bridge payment for farmers to give them short-term relief while the trade deal packages are being finalized.

The packages, however, won't speed up purchases, said Bessent.

"They're in the cadence that we agreed to," he said. "Soybean prices are up about 12 or 15% since the agreement with the Chinese. They are going to buy 12.5 million metric tons."