By SUSAN MYKRANTZ

Ohio Correspondent

MASSILLON, Ohio — Canada and Mexico are, respectively, the top and third-largest export markets for U.S. food and agricultural products. They account for 28 percent of total food and agricultural exports and support more than 325,000 American jobs.

That was the message touted by Farmers for Free Trade (FFT) during its 11-state, 3,500-mile RV tour across the country in April in support of the pending U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The coalition is supported by commodity groups from across the ag industry.

On April 15 the tour stopped at Windy Way Farm, owned by the Click family, in Massillon. The Clicks operate a beef and grain farm as well as maintain a small trucking business; Ben Click is the fifth generation to be involved and he said that only by keeping agriculture and trade profitable, can he and others like him return to their family farms.

Click said farmers are already battling the weather, land prices, and regulations; markets and trade should not be one more thing they have to battle in order to compete on the world market. “People love our product,” he said. “They want them back.”

He was part of a panel including Brad Reynolds, director of communications for the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers’ Assoc.; Bill Brown, a poultry farmer and president of Stark County Farm Bureau; Brad Starlin, a grain buyer and crop insurance salesman with Purina/Land O’Lakes; and Todd Shelton, Ohio and Pennsylvania representative for the National Assoc. of Manufacturers.

The panel feels the USMCA will advance U.S. agricultural interests in the most important markets for its farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses, as well as open new markets to expand U.S. food and agricultural exports and support food manufacturing and rural jobs.

According to FFT, the USMCA would continue to allow all food and agricultural products that had zero tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to remain at zero. The original NAFTA did not eliminate all tariffs on agricultural trade between the United States and Canada; however, the USMCA will create new market access opportunities for U.S. exports to Canada of dairy, poultry, and eggs.

In exchange the U.S. will provide new access to Canada for dairy, peanuts, processed peanut products, and a limited amount of sugar and sugar-containing products.

“Trade is important to corn growers,” said Reynolds. “We send $2 billion worth of agricultural products to Canada; 12,000 jobs depend on this market. Mexico is our largest market for wheat, so it is important that other countries see that we can be good trading partners.”

Starlin has seen the impact exports have had on the grain market, and with farm prices struggling, farmers need the economic boost export venues provide. He said with the demand for U.S. wheat from Mexico, he is concerned about the condition of the crop in Ohio, as the most recent reports show only about 29 percent of it is in good to excellent condition coming out of the winter.

Reynolds added that under the USMCA, Canada has agreed to treat U.S. wheat more favorably and more in line with how it handles its own wheat. He said right now, Canadian inspection certificates do not list a grade for wheat so U.S exports don’t receive a premium for a higher grade of product.

He said that one new item in the agreement states that neither the U.S. nor Canada will be allowed to list the country of origin on their wheat quality certificates.

Brown said the U.S. exports about 18 percent of its poultry production, so trade has an impact on that industry, too. “Anytime we can get more poultry into the export market, it opens up the domestic market for more products.”

The new agreement offers many opportunities for increased exports to Canada for chicken, turkey, and egg products and it further more offers a chance for those exports to grow over the long term.

In 2018, U.S. dairy exports totaled $5.585 billion with Mexico and Canada, respectively ranking first and third as U.S. trading partners. This was up 2 percent from 2017. But at the same time, U.S. milk production continues to increase, while domestic consumption of fluid milk is on the decline. This makes it even more important for the struggling industry to find a home for its products.

Currently Canada restricts U.S. dairy exports through tariff rate quotas with over-quota rates as high as 315.5 percent. Under the USMCA pact, Canada would continue its supply management program but the agreement would expand tariff rate quotas and increase each year for U.S. exports of milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, skim milk powder, condensed milk, and some other dairy categories.

From a manufacturing standpoint, Shelton sees the importance of the USMCA as a means of building a strong economy and strong communities around the country. He said his group has been meeting with legislators to stress the importance of getting the agreement through Congress.

“This tour provides an on-the-ground, up-close look at how American agriculture needs trade with Canada and Mexico to survive,” said Angela Hofmann, co-founder of FFT.

She added that farmers are looking for certainty and predictability that their exports will find open markets across North America.