The America First Policies organization hosted a United States ? Mexico ? Canada Agreement (USMCA) roundtable discussion in Waukee on Wednesday. Participants included: Matt Deppe, CEO of the Iowa Cattlemen?s Association; Dallas County Farm Bureau President Dan Golightly; Jen Sorenson, Vice President of the National Pork Producers Council and Iowa Select Farms; and Steve Sukup of Sukup Manufacturing. They discussed the impact USMCA can have for the agriculture industries in Iowa.
The main question of the day was, ?Why is the USMCA important for Iowa Agribusiness?? Steve Sukup says, ?you go to your best partners.? In this case, Mexico and Canada.
Iowa Cattlemen?s CEO Matt Deppe reminded attendees that like many farmers, they aren?t just invested in one commodity or another. There are concerns for grains, meats, and dairy.
Jen Sorenson of Iowa Select Farms said with rough math, Iowa Select Farms could be shipping nearly 180 million pounds of pork to Canada and Mexico by themselves. Without these markets, there would be a significant hit to their production. Sorenson broke it down in rough figures.
Dan Golightly summed it up in more simple terms. He said as a farmer he understands that if trade demand is better, he does better. If he is doing better, the businesses he works with will do better.
