The East and Gulf Coast dockworkers strike has been suspended until January 15th and it is yet another reason producers need a new farm bill.
The International Longshoremen’s Association ordered its members back to work after their three-day work stoppage while negotiations continue with outstanding issues like port automation.
American Farm Bureau Economist Danny Munch says even before ILA members agreed to a partial deal on wages, a port backlog would take time to clear.
With 59 ships carrying hundreds of thousands of containers at anchor.
Munch says that without a permanent deal in place there are other concerns.
All, possibly hurting an already hurricane-ravaged southeast. A key reason the White House pressed both sides to suspend the strike.
Another, the impact of backlogged farm exports on an already-collapsing bottom line for producers, still without a new farm bill.
The 36 affected ports handle tens of millions a week worth of produce, poultry, dairy, soybeans, meat, corn ethanol, and farm machinery. The suspended port strike and the August Canadian rail strike plus Hurricane Helene were just the latest examples of why U.S. farmers need the protection of a modernized farm bill.
