Corn grower organization representatives from eight states just returned last week from a trade mission to Japan, Vietnam and China sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council.
Among the many stops on the 2011 Corn Mission was the Kushiro Port in Hokkaido, the heart of Japan’s major dairy producing area, where the group pictured here heard about plans to expand the port’s capacity to accommodate larger vessels. “Japan is our number one market for corn,” said Tom Mueller with the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. “This expansion and work to accommodate the larger vessels will help to ensure that Japan will continue to be a reliable customer.”
Mueller notes that they saw three different types of markets on the trip. “We saw a very mature market in Japan, one that we’ve established for a very long time,” he said. “The second market we saw was in China and it’s a fast growing market and we’re making inroads there. The third market was Vietnam and that country’s economy is just booming. We’ll have to work hard to provide them enough grain to take care of all their livestock.”
Commenting about the trip on the way home, Randy Woodruff of the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board said they learned just how big the demand is for U.S. corn in the Asian markets. “It’s not going away, it’s going to expand every year,” he said.
Kurt Hora with the Iowa Corn Growers Association was impressed by the importance of personal relationships in the Asian markets. “They value that a lot,” he said. “The quality of grain is important but, in the long run, they really want to buy grain from somebody they know and trust.”
Others who took part in the trade mission were Bruce Wetzel from Texas; Pat Feldpausch of Michigan; Paul Herringshaw of Ohio; Rob Korff from Missouri; Kelly Brunkhorst, Ag Program Manager with the Nebraska Corn Board; and Nancy Kavazanjian, Communications Director, Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board. You can see photos and watch some short video clips of growers’ impressions of the trip on the USGC Flickr photo album set from the 2011 Corn Mission.
It took over four years, but free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama have finally become law.
Now it’s time to play catch up to gain market share lost due to the slowness in getting those agreements ratified. “Earlier this year, NCGA provided testimony to the Senate Finance Committee citing Panama as an example of lost market share,” says National Corn Growers Association president and Illinois farmer Garry Niemeyer. “Corn exports to the country peaked in 2008 and have since dropped 20 percent. This market erosion was due in part to a lack of progress on the Panama FTA. As a farmer, it has been frustrating to see other nations achieve access to markets over U.S. corn and corn products.”
Colombia has been importing more corn from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay because of an import duty preference. From marketing year 2007-08 through 2009-10, U.S. corn exports to Colombia dropped 78 million bushels, an estimated loss of $475 million. Under the Colombian FTA, U.S. corn producers gain immediate access to the Colombian market for 2.1 million metric tons of corn at zero percent duty.
The new agreement with Panama eliminates 50 percent of tariffs immediately and is estimated to mean a $46 million gain in U.S. agriculture exports to that country. The Colombia agreement will bring a $370 million gain in agriculture exports and will eliminate 80 percent of tariffs, and the Korea agreement could mean a $1.9 billion gain for U.S. agriculture exports by eliminating two-thirds of tariffs immediately. Under the Korea FTA, imports of U.S. corn for feed and distillers grains are guaranteed to enter duty free immediately.
What this means in a word is jobs. “Farm exports help support more than 1 million American jobs, said Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack upon the signing of the FTAs. “These three agreements will increase farm exports by an additional $2.3 billion—supporting nearly 20,000 American jobs—by eliminating tariffs, removing barriers to trade and leveling the playing field for U.S. producers.”
American Farm Bureau estimates that the trade agreements will create more than 22,500 jobs when fully executed. Now that’s a real stimulus for the economy. Let’s get back in the game and play catch up.
Some things from grade school still hold true. You shouldn’t forget what you learned over the summer, you should try your hardest, and there should always be a playground monitor. This August, while Congress is at recess, they need you to act as a playground monitor by reminding them of what they learned about the importance of pending trade agreements to agriculture.
First, take a moment to review the lesson.
The United States is the largest producer and exporter of corn in the world. Developing new markets for our country’s agricultural products is vital to producer income and it also helps our sector lead the nation in economic growth and international competitiveness. USDA is forecasting the United States will reach a record high $135.5 billion in exports this year. Agriculture’s trade surplus is not something other sectors of our economy achieve. Passing FTAs will ensure our market share stays strong in existing and developing markets.
Now, it is time to try your hardest. Today, that entails actually meeting directly with your members of Congress. It is the most effective way to inform them how important the pending Free Trade Agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama are for rural America, consumers and the agriculture industry. Opponents of free trade agreements will be working hard this summer to kill support for the agreements. But your message, told in person, will make sure Congress knows the truth about the benefits of FTAs.
Scheduling a meeting with your member of Congress requires some homework. First, you will need to talk to their scheduler, typically located in Washington, DC. You can find your member’s contact information online at www.senate.gov, www.house.gov or by calling the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to connect you to their office.
Be aware that many schedulers have a policy requiring that all meeting requests be submitted by fax or email, so be prepared to send the following information: your name, hometown, and title; description of the issue(s) you wish to discuss; other meeting attendees (along with their names, hometowns, and titles). You can then expect the scheduler to follow up with you via phone or email.
Be prepared to offer the scheduler your available dates and times. The greater your flexibility, the greater the odds are that you will be able to meet with the member. If the member is not available to meet with you, there are still options. Schedule a meeting with their legislative aide responsible for agriculture or trade issues.
If you have difficulty scheduling time with your representative, you may also ask the scheduler if the member will be holding any public events, town hall meetings or similar listening sessions in the District that you might be able to attend.
Life, and government in particular, can seem complex and confusing at times. Just remember, the lessons that you learned early on are still applicable today. Use playground rules and make sure that Congress spends their recess doing something productive. It takes some work, but it can pay off for corn growers across the country.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that passage of all three FTAs would result in 22,500 new jobs in that sector alone. While this would not return unemployment levels to their pre-crisis lows, it would drastically, immediately change the lives of both the 22,500 hired as well as the approximately 67,500 people who depend upon them. By opening these markets, Congress would directly improve the financial, physical and emotional well-being of 90,000 Americans.
Albeit in a less dramatic manner, the passage of these trade agreements benefits the entire nation. The American Farm Bureau estimates passage of these agreements would generate an additional 2.5 billion dollars in the U.S. economy through agricultural trade alone. If Congress is willing to fight tooth and nail over cutting a few billion dollars from current spending, actually growing the national economy should be a high priority.
Nebraska farmers are coming to the aid of their customers in Japan by donating grain to support Red Cross efforts to help those impacted by the earthquake and tsunami.
In just the first two days of the program that started April 1, more than 4,600 bushels of grain were contributed in the Cornhusker State and sold for more than $31,000 to donate to the Red Cross. “We’ve seen an incredible response to the grain donation program. It’s the largest program we’ve ever had in our chapter, and dollars generated will go directly to the Red Cross international relief effort,” said Renae Foster, chief operating officer of the Central Plains Regional Chapter of the American Red Cross.
“Japan is one of our important customers, buying more than $370 million in Nebraska agricultural products like corn, beef and pork, last year alone,” said Lynn Chrisp, a farmer from Kenesaw and member of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association. “This is a great way for farmers to help them during this disaster, to be a good neighbor to one of our most important global customers.”
The program allows farmers to make grain donations at cooperative locations or by contacting their grain merchandiser and transferring ownership to the Red Cross. “The more locations there are to deliver corn, the bigger impact we’ll have,” Chrisp said. “In fact, we’re hoping the grain donation program is adopted in other states, too.”
The grain donation program was developed by the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, Aurora Cooperative and the American Red Cross, with farmer-owned KRVN rural radio also supporting the initiative. It is currently scheduled to run through July 30. For more information, contact Mat Habrock at the Nebraska Corn Growers.
NCGA board member, Pam Johnson, is a northern Iowa corn and soybean grower. She farms with her husband and sons and is one of the participants in the Truth About Trade & Technology, Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable. She is not only participating in the roundtable discussions but was also on the panel of this morning’s Biodiversity World Tour town hall mtg.
I spoke with Pam before the afternoon roundtable session got underway. She says this discussion has been great for her because farmers share a lot of the same issues and concerns around the world. She thought this morning’s town hall meeting was a good one with an audience that understands that there are a lot of definitions for terms like sustainability. She says that the point was made that farmers are working hard to be productive while maintaining a viable business and taking care of their land and other resources. She hopes that the farmers visiting the United States will take away the idea that they have to be able to operate in an atmosphere where their government policy, the public and consumers work with farmers. In other words, it’s not an “us vs. them” situation.
It’s World Food Prize week in Des Moines, IA and there are a variety of activities taking place surrounding this annual event. The National Corn Growers Association is sponsoring one of them – the Global Farmer To Farmer Roundtable which is organized by Truth About Trade & Technology.
Believing that farmers must work together on a global table to expand access to technology in agriculture to all, Truth About Trade & Technology (TATT) – an American based non-profit formed and led by farmers who support access to technology, including biotechnology, and freer trade – will host an Annual Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable. The event will be each October in conjunction with the World Food Prize Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
Each year, up to 20 farmers from around the world will gather together and participate in the invitation-only event. Working in conjunction with the World Food Prize Symposium, these farmers will share their personal experiences as they discuss current issues in agriculture, including access to technology, trade barriers and other matters relating to the future of international agriculture and food production.
I’ll be attending this event which takes place today and tomorrow and provides updates with interviews of the participants. This morning the agenda kicks off with a Global Virtual Town Hall session on the campus of Iowa State University. This is part of the Biodiversity World Tour put on by Croplife International.
In the face of bad news for the general economy in the United States, agriculture is looking pretty good.
Last week we heard that U.S. economic growth dropped to just 1.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, compared to 3.7 percent for the first three months, and some say it could be below one percent next quarter. Meanwhile, unemployment continues to flirt with double digits, riding at 9.5 percent overall.
But the agricultural sector is showing a significant increase in both farm income and exports. It’s all up about 23-24 percent compared to last year. Granted, last year was down 20 percent from the year before, which was a record for exports and near record for farm income. But, it definitely spells R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y, unlike the rest of the economy, despite the best of efforts to make that happen.
“The great thing about this recovery is that it’s sector-wide,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a press conference today about the new reports. “While an increase in the value of livestock production accounted for much of the upward movement, the value of dairy production rose by 26.2 percent; the value of meat animal production is up 14.6 percent, and the value of poultry and egg production rose 8.4 percent.” That’s all good news for corn farmers.
USDA increased its forecast for 2010 exports by $3 billion compared to May to $107.5 billion, due mostly to greater grain and feed shipments and higher values along with increased livestock, poultry, and dairy product exports. “Agriculture is one of the few major sectors of the economy today that has a trade surplus, which we are now forecasting to be a little over $30 billion,” said Vilsack. That is also forecast to get even better next year, up to $113 billion, very close to the record $115 in 2008, thanks to sharply higher unit values and volumes for wheat and corn, as well as increases in products like distillers’ dried grains (DDGS). Vilsack points out that every billion dollars in agricultural exports supports over 8,000 jobs and generates an additional $1.4 billion in economic activity.
Kind of makes you wonder where our economy would be right now without farmers and ranchers, doesn’t it? Vilsack noted the significance of the “underlying values of rural America and its farmers and ranchers to the resilience of the agriculture sector.” In other words, farmers and ranchers are not afraid of hard work, they have kept their debt below that of the rest of the economic sectors, and they continue to increase productivity through innovation and research.
It is really a very simple solution to economic problems. Hard work + low debt + increased productivity = economic recovery. The rest of the economy certainly could learn a lot from the farm.
May is World Trade Month – and it would be a great time for Congress to finally ratify the free trade agreements that have been sitting around gathering dust for three years now.
No one seems to know exactly what the hold up is on ratifying the agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia, especially since President Obama made increasing exports number three in his list of priorities for the nation during his State of the Union address in January, specifically setting a goal to “double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support two million jobs in America. To help meet this goal, we’re launching a National Export Initiative that will help farmers and small businesses increase their exports, and reform export controls consistent with national security.”
“If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores. But realizing those benefits also means enforcing those agreements so our trading partners play by the rules,” the president said. “And that’s why we will continue to shape a Doha trade agreement that opens global markets, and why we will strengthen our trade relations in Asia and with key partners like South Korea, Panama, and Colombia.”
Several agriculture groups got together Monday in Washington to urge Congress to “stop dragging its feet” and pass the Colombia, Panama and South Korea free trade agreements. The South Korea and Panama agreements were both finalized in June of 2007 – Columbia has been sitting around since November 2006. In the meantime, all three countries have been moving forward on trade deals with U.S. competitors.
American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman says the inaction on the part of Congress is costing U.S. agriculture lost market share and competitiveness. “We are seeing all around us FTAs being negotiated or already negotiated by our competitors, increasing their export potential and putting the U.S. at a disadvantage,” said Stallman. “The three FTAs combined, which are stalled in Congress, represent almost $2.5 billion in additional exports.”
Maryland corn farmer Chip Bowling says U.S. corn exports to Columbia alone have dropped 50 percent, a loss of $273 million to the U.S. economy. “Instead of seeing increasing markets and new opportunities for corn growers, we are fighting to keep our markets away from international competitors,” Bowling says, but passing the Columbia FTA could fix the problem. “Under the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, the United States would have immediate access to Colombia’s market for 2.1 million metric tons of corn at a zero percent duty.”
Our extensive water transportation system in the United States may very well be one of our greatest national economic and strategic assets. It is definitely our most unappreciated means of moving goods because the vast majority of the population doesn’t see river transport in action, smell it, or risk getting run over by it.
That’s also the downside. People will support road projects all day because of our personal engagement with the asphalt and concrete, but ignore our most efficient and environmentally safe means of moving critical goods from coal to corn to construction materials.
So it is concerning that a critical part of our nation’s transportation infrastructure, the locks and dams along the Illinois River and the Upper Mississippi River, are deteriorating and falling behind technologically after 80 years of stalwart contributions.
Granted, this oversight may be understandable given the public and government’s focus on political issues from war to health care and economic issues that don’t need any explanation, but the consequence for this lack of vision may carry a big price tag in years ahead.
The country’s inland navigation system plays a critical role in the nation’s economy, moving more than a billion tons of domestic commerce valued at more than $300 billion per year. More than one billion bushels of grain (about 60 percent of all grain exports) move to export markets via the inland waterways each year.
Growing agricultural productivity in the U.S. and growing populations and buying power overseas provide some clues to the critical importance of addressing this issue. Population is expected to grow by 2.5 billion more people by 2050 to more than 9 billion people and many of those hungry eyes will be looking to the U.S. to keep their pantries and their stomachs full.
There are also significant environmental benefits to the inland waterway system. The backwaters created by the lock and dam system support more than 40 percent of the migratory water fowl and fish breeding grounds and are home to more than 500 miles of wildlife refuge. In addition, more than $1 billion are generated each year in recreational use – fishing, hunting and tourism.
So if the opportunity arise to tell your local, state or federal elected officials they need to get active now on updating our water transportation system it will be time well spent.
Among the many stops on the 2011 Corn Mission was the Kushiro Port in Hokkaido, the heart of Japan’s major dairy producing area, where the group pictured here heard about plans to expand the port’s capacity to accommodate larger vessels. “Japan is our number one market for corn,” said Tom Mueller with the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. “This expansion and work to accommodate the larger vessels will help to ensure that Japan will continue to be a reliable customer.”
It took over four years, but free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama have finally become law.
In just the first two days of the program that started April 1, more than 4,600 bushels of grain were contributed in the Cornhusker State and sold for more than $31,000 to donate to the Red Cross. “We’ve seen an incredible response to the grain donation program. It’s the largest program we’ve ever had in our chapter, and dollars generated will go directly to the Red Cross international relief effort,” said Renae Foster, chief operating officer of the Central Plains Regional Chapter of the American Red Cross. 
But the agricultural sector is showing a significant increase in both 
No one seems to know exactly what the hold up is on ratifying the agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia, especially since President Obama made increasing exports number three in his list of priorities for the nation during his State of the Union address in January, specifically setting a goal to “double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support two million jobs in America. To help meet this goal, we’re launching a National Export Initiative that will help farmers and small businesses increase their exports, and reform export controls consistent with national security.”