Farmers and ranchers rely on trade and cannot afford to lose out

Free trade is a real success story for U.S. agriculture. Twenty percent of our products are exported, and with a $21 billion surplus, agriculture is a bright spot in our nation’s overall trade balance.

These gains also put us at greater risk for retaliation, however. As farm income has fallen by about 50 percent in recent years, farmers and ranchers cannot afford to lose out in the global marketplace due to retaliation.

The president has promised to fight for new and better trade deals for all. Agriculture and the American Farm Bureau will continue to remind him of that.

– Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation