Minnesota farmers blast Ag. Secretary Perdue on trade - Entrepreneur Generations

Sonny Perdue spoke at Minnesota FarmFest
(DTN photo by Chris Clayton)

Farmers vented their frustrations with the tariff war when Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue held a listening session at Minnesota Farmfest in Redwood Falls yesterday. It was a particularly timely topic since China halted all American ag purchases a few days ago in response to President Trump's announcement of 10 percent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods.

"Gary Wertish, president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, drew applause as he leveled criticism of the administration’s trade policy" during the forum, Mike Dorning and Erik Wasson report for Bloomberg. "Wertish criticized Trump’s 'go-it-alone approach' and the trade dispute’s 'devastating damage not only to rural communities.' He expressed fears Trump’s $28 billion in trade aid will undermine public support for federal farm subsidies, saying the assistance is already being pilloried 'as a welfare program, as bailouts.'"

Brian Thalmann, president of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, criticized some of Trump's tweets that farmers are doing "great" again, Dorning and Wasson report. "We are not starting to do great again . . . We are starting to go down very quickly," Thalman said.

"One farmer got a loud round of applause by telling the secretary USDA shouldn't put out speculative planting numbers that kill a market rally. Perdue defended the math and accuracy of USDA statisticians," Chris Clayton reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

"Perdue defended the survey-based data from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and said the schedule for releasing publications is determined years in advance," Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture.

Many applauded when State Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat, said trade aid was not a substitute for a trade strategy. Perdue said that America's farmers would regain their market share in China but that a resolution needed to be reached based on "reciprocal trade" and that it's China's responsibility to make some concessions, Dorning and Wasson report. Perdue also said no further trade aid is currently planned, though Trump hinted at more aid in a tweet on Tuesday.

But Joel Schreurs, a Minnesota farmer and national director for the American Soybean Association, told Perdue he doesn't think the hardline approach is working with China, and that soybean farmers are losing a long-term relationship with China in the meantime, Clayton reports. "I just don't see that market coming back quickly," Schreurs said. "It's not going to be a six-month thing."

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