Hawkeye Reporter

While economic indicators showed a difficult second quarter in the agriculture sector, Iowa farmers feel encouraged by the recent trade agreement with Japan and hope for progress on similar measures.

“The U.S.-Japan agreement is going to be helpful," Bloomfield farmer Roger Wuthrich told the Hawkeye Reporter. "Japan is an importer of a lot our meats and a little bit of the grains. Anything we can do for trade is great.” 

The news is particularly encouraging given the recent trade situation with China, though that could be changing.

Vice President Mike Pence was in Iowa Wednesday to discuss the Trump administration's commitment to continued trade talks.

“It looks like China might be talking to us again,” Wuthrich said. “It’s not going to be like turning on a light switch but it will start to alleviate the problem and hopefully we get our trade back to where it was with China. Our biggest fear is instead of buying from us, they’re buying from South America, and once you lose that buyer, it’s hard to get them back.”

In southern Iowa, crops were better than expected given the spring rains.

“We had our challenges this year with all the rain but prices have come up a little,” Wuthrich said, adding that they could improve further with passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, which is designed to strengthen trade in agriculture.

“Mexico is our biggest importer of corn, a huge importer of meat products, too," said Wuthrich, a member of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. "Canada is very important, so if we could get this trade deal passed, and then also the China deal, things will start to work out. As a farmer, one thing we do is call our Congress members and senators to keep sending messages to the president.”

Last week, the president announced plans to improve the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires biofuels, often produced from corn, to be blended into gasoline.

“This plan will fix the EPA’s exemption process and help farmers and biofuel producers going forward,” U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a press release. “President Trump has made clear that he is an ally of corn and soybean farmers as well as ethanol and biodiesel producers. He is fighting for the farmer. This announcement is great news for Iowa, the Midwest and the entire country.”

“We think the RFS is a win for everybody,” Wuthrich said. “It’s cleaner air and, second, it’s going to help the farm prices because we’re using our own crops, not something we import from overseas.”