Council Claims Unfair Trade Policies Are Huring Agricultural Producers

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

The current Farm Bill expires September 30, and as Congress prepares a short-term extension, producer organizations are ramping up the urgency of their requests. With new challenges in the global marketplace,Jess Peterson of the Rural & Agriculture Council of America would like to see the farm bill level the playing field for U.S. producers.

Peterson… “China was the third largest international supplier of agricultural products to the U.S. in 2022, that’s up almost ten percent to a value of $9.5 billion. Processed canned fruits and vegetables, grown and packaged in China, were one of the top products imported into the U.S. Imports of canned meat since 2018 are up over 400 percent. It is extremely concerning to U.S. farmers, ranchers and consumers that the U.S. continues to allow imports from countries that enabled forced slave labor on farms, ranches and in their processing facilities. China and Brazil both rank high in agriculture exports and forced labor violations. This needs to change. Congress needs to work on language in the 2023 Farm Bill that addresses and acknowledges the impact of these practices and ensures that unacceptable production standards are being delt with and allows our producers to fairly compete in a global marketplace.”

Peterson hopes the next iteration of the farm bill will help bolster American agricultural production.