NAFB Trade Talk
Day two of the NAFB included the highly anticipated ‘Trade Talk’ sessions, which bring together industry leaders across all sectors to discuss the future of farming and agriculture.
Combatting a changing climate remained top of mind at the convention, with most of the ‘Trade Talkers’ pointing to the need for ag producers of all sizes to stay informed on how the climate will change the way they do business. There was unity, perhaps unexpectedly, at the convention that addressing the changing climate remains the most critical areas of concern.
We asked multiple industry leaders about impacts of expected tariffs on the costs. The common refrain was a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude that was deferential to the proposed Trump Administration tariffs and how those costs would be transferred to farmers or consumers.
There was also frequent conversation around the embattled ag labor market in the United States. While already strained, mass deportations of those who have worked in agriculture has raised the prospect of the typically conservative farmers lobbies coming into conflict with the next Trump Administration. One CEO who asked not to be named told me that there was “no way in hell” we would see mass deportations of seasonal or migrant farm workers. That CEO said colorfully that if he was wrong, there would be “protests nationwide by farmers that would make the Tea Party envious.”
That warning is likely to make its way to Washington D.C. while negotiations over stalled farm bill are expected to continue into the new year.
KSJB will have more coverage and reaction from the NAFB through the weekend.
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