United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was recently in Mexico to talk with his counterpart, Mexican Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Victor Villalobos. The discussions were wide-ranging with our neighbor and partner in the USMCA pact, but Vilsack is confident he is coming back after making progress on a few topics.
Potatoes have been a sticking point in Ag trade with Mexico for more than 15 years now. Producers in our country are charging that conglomerates in Mexico are persuading the government to not allow fair access to our products, while their potatoes flood our shelves. Vilsack says that they had a good discussion on this issue.
Another concern is Mexico?s stance on biotechnology and GMOs. They plan to ban the sale and use of those kinds of products in 2024. This move has drawn skepticism from producers in America for not being based on any kind of science, but rather for political motives only. Vilsack met with the ban?s biggest cheerleader, Mexican President Lopez-Obrador on this issue and also labor.
Another hot topic in US Agriculture right now deals with Conservation Reserve Program land (CRP). There are signals that more land could be coming out. Vilsack says that this decision is ultimately up to farmers and not the USDA. If farmers think they can make more money on the land by having it in production, it is their choice to try. However, he reminds producers that each acre coming out of CRP and into production sends a specific signal to the markets in Chicago.
USDA data indicates that 3.9 million acres are expiring in September of this year. While some may read that as a concern, Vilsack says this is purely a choice of land use. USDA is not going to mandate this decision to producers.
