If you are a Farm Bureau member or IL Corn Growers Association member, you’ve seen our recent “Trade Matters” publication this week.  Hopefully flipping through it reminded you how important trade is to your bottom line.

As an example, without the North American Free Trade Agreement, all three North American countries revert to their WTO-bound MFN duty rates (pre-NAFTA tariffs).  This means Mexico would be able to apply up to a 37 percent tax on corn, annihilating any competitive advantage we now hold over competitors.

Without NAFTA, U.S. corn production falls by an average of 150 million bushels annually, erasing $800 million dollars in value or about $6/acre.  Total U.S. grain production falls by $1.2 billion.

Without beef and pork exports, 355 million bushels of corn and 1.48 million tons of DDGS are left without a market, equaling $1.3 billion in corn and $205.4 million in DDGS loss.

Trade matters to Illinois’ ag economy.  We simply cannot forget that no matter the rhetoric we see in the media and in the public, vibrant trade is an integral part of your family business.

“The global marketplace gives us a great opportunity to define our future and the future of this industry,” said Paul Jeschke, Illinois Corn Marketing Board Chairman