While the Farm Bill is a top priority for agriculture this Congressional session, there are new uncertainties in the farm economy today that the Midwest Dairy Coalition is voicing to policymakers in Washington D.C.
Policy director Steve Etka says trade is at the top of the list.
“The top markets for dairy exports are Mexico, Canada, and China, and obviously, those have been big focuses of what the President is trying to do in terms of changing the world trade structure, so there’s some nervousness about that because we’ve already seen retaliation,” he says. “The upside, potentially that the President is talking about, is that this could bring folks to the table to make some concessions to rebalance some of those tariff structures.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins testified before the Senate Committee on Appropriations for agriculture this week, telling lawmakers to stay tuned because there are trade negotiations underway, Etka paraphrased.
“We would love to see that,” he says. “We’re anxious to see what she’s talking about.”
Etka notes that the European Union is an area of frustration, especially for dairy farmers. He sees the EU as a trade region with room for improvement.
“There’s such an imbalance in their tariffs versus our tariffs, so getting into the EU market has been nearly impossible,” he explains. “If there’s any hope to make changes there, that would be great.”
