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If you are a Farm Bureau member, consider taking five minutes, using the information below, to make sure you understand how the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) benefits agriculture in Ohio, and then share the message with five fellow Farm Bureau members.

Ohio Farm Bureau has been working as part of an industry-wide effort to send a message to Washington, DC: NAFTA has created important markets for American agriculture – don’t let negotiations dismantle them.

Farm Bureau’s Executive Vice President Adam Sharp, along with colleagues from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association as well as OSU economist Ian Sheldon recently shared this message with newspaper editorial boards and our Congressional delegation. This work is paying off. Just this week, Ohio Senator Rob Portman sent a letter to President Trump to affirm the benefits of NAFTA and requested the president modernize the agreement with those benefits in mind.

When it comes time to take action, will you be ready to talk about the importance of NAFTA?  Here are some helpful resources to help build your understanding.

• Listen on the go! This is a 4-minute audio story with Tadd Nicholson, executive director of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association.  He talks about the importance of exports, why NAFTA matters and the local impact of NAFTA.  

• This joint letter from ag industry leaders to Senator Portman provides a great summary of how NAFTA benefits the Ohio farmer.

• Here is a detailed look at NAFTA benefits from the Congressional Research Service 

• See a great example of how to talk to the media about NAFTA.  

Again, please use these resources to brush up on your NAFTA, and pass it along to five fellow members.

Photo: Trends and Issues: Consolidated Grain and Barge.  (© 2017 Neal C. Lauron)