Members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee today voted 25-3 in support of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a critical step to moving the new trade agreement toward final passage in the U.S. Senate.
“USMCA will bring much-needed certainty, and real benefits to America’s farmers, workers, and businesses. Farmers are getting better and more reliable market access, which they badly need,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in his opening remarks.
Members of the House of Representatives in December overwhelmingly approved USMCA. The agreement is critically important to corn farmers. Mexico and Canada are the U.S. corn industry’s largest, most reliable market. In 2018, 21.4 million metric tons of corn and corn co-products were exported to Mexico and Canada, valued at $4.56 billion.
The trade agreement will next need to be approved by the full Senate which could occur as early as next week.
COVID-19 Resources
NCGA is taking a series of actions to do our part to help contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the economic fallout it is creating for corn farmers and our customers. Short term, this means instituting policies to protect the health and safety of our stakeholders and the broader communities we serve. Long term, we’re focused on creating solutions to help corn farmers and our customers recover from the financial impacts of this crisis.
CommonGround
CommonGround is a group of farmers connecting with consumers through conversations about science and research and personal stories about food and misinformation surrounding farming. Supported by the NCGA and state corn organizations.
SHP
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) is a farmer-led initiative that fosters transformation in agriculture through improved soil health. Administered by NCGA the partnership has more than 220 working farms enrolled in 16 states. SHP’s mission is to utilize science and data to partner with farmers who are adopting conservation agricultural practices that improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the farm.
