As trade tensions with China persist under President Trump, University of Minnesota Extension economist Ed Usset says uncertainty is the biggest challenge facing U.S. agriculture. “Agriculture is so dependent on trade here in the U.S. We export 40 to 45 percent of our soybeans and wheat and we’ve done this for decades and decades,” said Usset. “What is new is the amount of pork and beef and chicken [being exported], that’s all in the last one to three decades.” The lack of clarity in trade policy leaves farmers with no clear path for making marketing decisions. “Markets don’t like uncertainty,” Usset said. “If I tell you to sell now, and tomorrow we solve our problems and the market goes back up, I feel like an idiot, but if things get worse and corn, soybean, and wheat prices drop by a buck, you’ll ask why I didn’t tell you to sell.”
