With a trade imbalance favoring ag imports over ag exports the past few years, the coming months will answer a lot of questions for farmers and ranchers.
Sam Kiefer, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Vice President of Public Policy, says we all know American agriculture is the most efficient in the world, so there are a lot of commodities that need exporting.
The good news is the volume of our agricultural exports hasn’t really changed a whole lot. And what has changed is the value of those exports. When commodity prices fall, that’s when we significantly saw the bifurcation of imports versus exports when it comes to value. But then Kiefer says there’s at least one other looming question. Certainly with the incoming administration and the ongoing discussions about tariffs, the question is how will that be implemented? Will it be a scalpel or will it be a hammer?
At the end of the day, Kiefer says we need to get commodity prices up and we do that by exporting. Right now, it is a wait and see situation.
I’m Lorrie Boyer reporting.