Agriculture economics

The following op-ed was distributed to newspapers across Ohio for publication. It was co-authored by Adam Sharp, executive vice president of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, and Eric Burkland, president of The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. 

Ohio’s farmers are enduring a tough year, as more than one in seven acres went unplanted this season due to relentless precipitation and flooding. This comes on top of several consecutive years of low prices for corn, soybeans, dairy, wheat and pork.

Meanwhile, many Ohio manufacturers face uncertain times, despite solid growth in the years following the Great Recession. U.S. manufacturing has experienced a significant slowdown during the first half of 2019, spurred by falling global demand and trade disputes.

Manufacturing and agriculture fuel Ohio’s economy. Both could use an immediate shot in the arm.

Adam Sharp - Executive Vice President
Adam Sharp

That is why we are calling on Ohio’s members of Congress to ratify the pending United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) without further delay. By adding more certainty and strengthening America’s relationship with its closest allies, this new trade structure will provide a tremendous boost to our state and national economies.

The USMCA would update the free trade framework established by the 1994 North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), thereby ensuring that Ohio’s agricultural and manufacturing sectors have unrestricted market access to important Canadian and Mexican markets.

Today, Canada and Mexico purchase more manufactured goods from Ohio than the rest of the world combined. In fact, Ohio manufacturers in 2017 sold $27 billion of manufactured goods to Canada and Mexico, and nearly 103,000 Ohio manufacturing jobs rely on exports to these countries. One in three Ohio manufacturing firms – overwhelmingly small businesses – export to Canada and Mexico.

When you break down what this new agreement would mean for farmers in Ohio the outlook is optimistic, as Ohio agriculture’s two largest trading partners are Canada and Mexico, respectively.

Eric Burkland
Eric Burkland

USMCA contains significant improvements and fixes to North America’s free trade rules that will benefit America’s manufacturers and ag producers, ensuring a level playing field.  The deal will strengthen and modernize America’s innovation engine, expand access for U.S. goods, and eliminate red tape at the border.
We simply can’t afford to let NAFTA expire without enacting USMCA. If tariff-free trade in North America is not upheld by the new deal, Ohio’s manufactured NAFTA exports could face more than $3 billion in extra taxes.

The impact to agriculture would be equally significant as U.S. ag exports to our border neighbors have quadrupled to an impressive $40 billion a year under NAFTA, including a third of Ohio’s farm exports that are currently purchased by Canada and Mexico.

So much is at stake for Ohio’s economy and its residents. We are counting on our federal delegation to support ratification of the USMCA to avoid a potential economic catastrophe. When members of Congress return to Washington in September, we respectfully ask that they urge their leaders to schedule a vote.

It’s time to put aside politics and deliver a substantial economic boost for Ohio’s key industries, workers and consumers.

Labor has always been an issue, mainly because we are a seasonal operation. So that's a challenge finding somebody who only wants to work three months out of a year, sometimes up to six months.
Mandy Way's avatar
Mandy Way

Way Farms

Farm Labor Resources
I appreciate the benefit of having a strong voice in my corner. The extras that are included in membership are wonderful, but I'm a member because of the positive impact to my local and state agricultural communities.
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Ernie Welch

Van Wert County Farm Bureau

Strong communities
I see the value and need to be engaged in the community I live in, to be a part of the decision-making process and to volunteer with organizations that help make our community better.
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Matt Aultman

Darke County Farm Bureau

Leadership development
Farm Bureau involvement has taught me how to grow my professional and leadership experience outside of the workforce and how to do that in a community-centric way.
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Jaclyn De Candio

Clark County Farm Bureau

Young Ag Professionals program
With not growing up on a farm, I’d say I was a late bloomer to agriculture. I feel so fortunate that I found the agriculture industry. There are so many opportunities for growth.
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Jenna Gregorich

Coshocton County Farm Bureau

Growing our Generation
Knowing that horticulture is under the agriculture umbrella and having Farm Bureau supporting horticulture like it does the rest of ag is very important.
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Jared Hughes

Groovy Plants Ranch

Groovy Plants Ranch
If it wasn't for Farm Bureau, I personally, along with many others, would not have had the opportunity to meet with our representatives face to face in Washington.
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Austin Heil

Hardin County Farm Bureau

Washington, D.C. Leadership Experience
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
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Mary Smallsreed

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

Advocacy
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