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U.S. agriculture must adapt to changing global trade

An ag policy expert says the United States is no longer the global ag trade powerhouse and the industry must adapt.

Mary Kay Thatcher says increased competition from Brazil and Argentina, and a changing U.S. trade strategy have contributed to a major shift.

“When I came to Washington D.C. in 1980, the U.S. had 50 percent of global trade. Now we have 18 percent. We won’t ever get that powerhouse back.”

That doesn’t mean completely giving up on new trade deals, but Thatcher says the focus now shifts to value-added opportunities, and there’s a clear path forward for commodities like corn and soybeans.

“We know, at least, if we went to year-round E15, better small refinery exemptions and Renewable Volume Obligations, that would be good.”

But finding value-added opportunities for rice and cotton gets more complicated.

“So much of the processing and milling are done elsewhere.”

She says the U.S. can no longer rely on the old trade playbook of if U.S. farmers produce it, the world will buy it and focusing mostly on free trade agreements.

Brownfield interviewed Thatcher at the FCS Financial’s Empowered Women, Empowered Agriculture Seminar in central Missouri.