A Glimmer of Trade Optimism for U.S. Farmers and Ranchers

Smith: Trade is certainly a hot topic among the agricultural community, with farmers and ranchers facing concerns on a number of fronts. However, Faith Parum, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said there has been some important progress with one of our nation's largest trading partners.

Parum: China has agreed to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans before January, and at least 25 million metric tons annually for the next three years, of soybeans. They've also said that they're going to resume purchases of other ag products, but no official announcements have been made. In addition, the United States has removed the Chinese port fees on any Chinese-owned and -operated ships, so that should help tensions be relieved.

Smith: The administration also announced several smaller deals, including agreements with Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Parum: Some of these are deals, some of them are more frameworks, but overall, they're good progress for U.S. agriculture. We're going to see some opening of doors for U.S. dairy, poultry, rice, pork, and ethanol. We're also going to see some reductions of non-trade barriers.

Smith: While this progress is certainly good news, the overall ag economy outlook is still challenging.

Parum: There's still some uncertainty when we talk about agricultural trade, and that makes it harder for farmers to plan and make decisions. And so, when we talk about an ag economy that's already feeling a lot of pain, the more certainty and the more open market access we can get for farmers, the better it will be.

Smith: Chad Smith, Washington.