While President Trump appears to be backing away from his threat to close the U.S.-Mexico border, agriculture industry leaders warn such a closure would likely cause more hardship forcing some farms out of business.
“Here’s the picture, closing the border for trade would be absolutely devastating to our country and to our agricultural producers, whether they be corn, pork or soybeans,” Nebraska farmer Greg Anderson told AgriTalk host Chip Flory. “Where I live in Nebraska, we have two export markets. One is the Pacific Northwest where we ship beans by rail, the other one is direct to Mexico. And we all know what has happened with the Pacific Northwest shipments. They’ve basically dried up because of China. Now if we get hit with our number two customer for soybeans, Mexico. I mean, wow. This really has some ramifications for a long, long time.”
U.S. farmers have great relationships with their buying partners in Mexico. Anderson, who serves on the Nebraska Soybean board, said Mexico has been an important demand driver for many U.S. commodities.
“If we start tampering with this now, it’s probably the last straw for a lot of agricultural producers,” he said.
“Closing the U.S. southern border to Mexico would be a gut punch that could set the [dairy] industry back by a decade or two,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC). “It is very difficult to fathom the impact closing the U.S.-Mexico border would have on U.S. agriculture, and both the American and Mexican food industries.”
Seven dairy farms are closing each day, according to USDA data. Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, says a border closure would amplify farmer struggles.
“The dairy industry is suffering through one of its worst economic periods ever,” he said. “Low milk prices are already creating hardship for farmers, and further supply disruptions would only prolong producer difficulties.”
Pork industry leaders recognize the importance for border security but say closing the border would be detrimental to the pork industry.
“A cloud of uncertainty and restricted access to our most important export markets have strained U.S. pork producers and their families for more than a year. We are at the breaking point and cannot afford a total loss of the Mexican market, one that accounted for more than 20% of total U.S. pork exports last year,” said David Herring, president of the National Pork Producers Council and a pork producer from Lillington, North Carolina in a statement. “While we recognize the importance of border security, we respectfully ask the Trump administration to proceed cautiously and consider the implications of cutting off trade with a market that is so vital for rural America.”
When it comes to corn and soybeans, Anderson said opportunities for profitability are already dwindling and removing export markets would cause more price pain.
“I think something should have been done with China a long time ago and farmers are patient to a degree,” Anderson said, “but if we start tampering now with others, what’s the next export market that might be on the President’s agenda?”
