The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) has announced their support for Farmers for Free Trade.
Farmers for Free Trade, led by former Senators Max Baucus and Richard Lugar, is a bipartisan, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting international trade pacts and advocating for new deals to promote agricultural exports.
This critical grassroots push comes at a time when trade is under fire, despite the fact that U.S. farmers export half of all major commodities, contributing to a $20 billion agricultural trade surplus this year and supporting millions of rural jobs.
“The American Farm Bureau is proud to join Farmers for Free Trade to help educate Americans about the importance of trade to farmers and farm income,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. “More than 20 percent of farm income comes from agricultural exports. Farmers and the rural communities that benefit from a strong ag economy cannot afford to lose that income.”
Baucus said rural communities depend on trade, and they aim to “speak very loudly” when it comes to ag trade.
“From my own experience managing my family’s 604-acre farm in Indiana, it is clear that farm incomes have been declining,” Lugar said. “Trade with other nations is critical to help alleviate this decline and stabilize the economies of farming communities across the country. Farmers at the grassroots level know, for example, that 1 out of 10 planted acres in the U.S. is sold to Mexico or Canada. I am proud to join in this effort to help farmers’ voices be heard.”
Every $1 billion of U.S. agricultural exports in 2015 supported about 8,000 American jobs throughout the economy.
Sara Lilygren, president of the Farmers for Free Trade board, said its mission is to make sure the same farmers and ranchers who put food on the table are also setting trade policy for this country.
Duvall hopes Farm Bureau’s decision to join the coalition will spur other groups to do the same.
To hear more comments on Farmers for Free Trade on the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network click here.