Livestock Industry Depends on FTAs

Edgerton, Minnesota farmer Randy Spronk is home after a trade trip to Guatemala. Spronk, who is a past chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation and past president of the National Pork Producers Council, said the trip highlighted the importance of trade agreements to the livestock industry. “CAFTA, which would be the Central America Free Trade Agreement, along with DASH DR/CAFTA DR, you look back at the data from 2024, you’ll notice some of those countries are up 40 to 60 percent not only on value but also in volume,” said Spronk. “You roll up those countries, from Guatemala to El Salvador to Nicaragua, to Costa Rica, you add them together and they come in where Canada is for our exports.”