This is Bob Bragg with the Farm News & Views Report for the week of April 14th.
As farmers sit on the sidelines watching the crazy tariff-tennis match between the Trump administration and global trading partners, it’s all but impossible to determine what will happen with crop prices this year. Farmers are also dealing with, arms tied behind their backs, unknown input costs for crop supplies, machinery and repairs. Then, after farm organizations warned Trump that deporting large numbers of agricultural workers would harm the food system, he hinted last week, that farmers might be able to petition the federal government to retain some farm workers that are in the U.S. illegally as long as they leave the country and then return with legal status. But surely, the devil will be in the details on that.
The tit-for-tat on tariffs between the U.S. and China continues. Trump announced on Wednesday that the U.S. was pausing reciprocal tariffs on most countries for 90 days, but he upped the ante on China. As of last Friday, U.S beef cuts and beef variety meat imports to China now face a 106% tariff, while U.S. pork cuts and variety meats face a 131% tariff, and U.S. soybeans are taxed at more than 150%. This is in response to Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that the U.S. would be pausing reciprocal tariffs on most countries for 90 days, but upping the ante on China. On Friday, the Steiner Consulting’s Daily Livestock Report noted that U.S. beef was already among the most expensive in the world, which had impacted beef exports to China in recent years, but at this point, Steiner predicts that U.S. beef won’t go to that market, because our primary competitor is grain-fed beef from Australia, which enjoys duty-free access under a bilateral trade agreement. New Zealand beef is also duty-free, while most other beef suppliers face a 12% tariff.
According to USDA data, the United States is the world’s largest nation in terms of agricultural trade and second behind the combined European Union, exporting grains and feeds, soybeans, livestock products, tree nuts, fruits, vegetables, and other consumer-oriented food products that can’t be easily or economically produced in the United States, such as tropical products or off-season produce. The leading agricultural imports are processed food and beverages, and tropical products from Mexico, Canada, the European Union, and China.
Our agricultural trade balance was positive for nearly 60 years, until 2019, when it shifted to a deficit. Despite record agricultural imports and exports in 2021–22, imports exceeded exports by $21 billion in 2023. Between 2014 and 2024, U.S. agricultural exports grew at 1 percent annually, though they were hindered by competition, a strong dollar, and trade barriers, but imports rose 6 percent during that time frame. U.S. agricultural import growth has been driven by a strong U.S. economy, favorable exchange rates, and rising consumer demand for high-valued imports of fruits and vegetables, alcoholic beverages and processed foods that often can’t be easily or economically produced in the United States, such as tropical products or off-season produce.
Who said bipartisanship was dead in Washington D.C.? Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley are calling on USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to broaden USDA’s response to the highly pathogenic avian influenza. They’re emphasizing the challenges that turkey producers and dairy farmers are facing with the outbreak, which is considered to be the largest animal disease outbreak in U.S. history. They’re asking for enhanced bio security protocols customized for poultry and dairy operations, accelerated vaccine development and approval, particularly for dairy cattle. They also want clear trade frameworks to prevent international barriers due to vaccine use, and timelines developed by the USDA for when the turkey and dairy sectors might be protected.
An article concerning grazing sheep under solar arrays in the Western Farm Press caught my attention recently, since I’ve watched the installation of solar panels in a field near my farm, which turned a good pasture into a haven for weeds and prairie dogs. Author Heather Smith Thomas points out that solar farms have found that sheep grazing is a cost-effective method to manage vegetation, since they graze under the panels, keeping vegetation under control and reducing fire dangers. In turn, the panels provide shade for the sheep and shelter during summer rainstorms. Also, since most solar arrays are enclosed by a fence to keep deer and elk out, the fences help to protect sheep from predation by coyotes and roaming dogs.
Here is a link to additional interesting articles by Heather Smith Thomas. https://www.farmprogress.com/author/heather-smith-thomas
Please support KSJD during the Spring Fund Drive.
Will Rogers wrote, “The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than gold has.”
