News

Farmers need certainty through trade agreements, farm bill

Indiana Farm Bureau President Randy Kron says although he’s encouraged by the trade truce between the U.S. and China, there are still a lot of issues to resolve.

“My concern would be that we send false market signals to other countries and they start expanding acres because their prices are better than ours because China isn’t buying from us,” he says. “If you bring other acres into production, that could have long-term effects on what happens.”

He tells Brownfield an agreement needs to be reached sooner rather than later because of the down farm economy.

“China was our number one soybean market,” he says. “When you lose that big of a chunk of your market, it’s reflective in the farm economy.”

Kron says passing a farm bill will also provide farmers with more certainty.

“It sounds likely we’ll get it this week, but in D.C. you never know – everything is fluid and five minutes can change the world,” he says.

Kron was reelected as president of Indiana Farm Bureau during the state convention in Fort Wayne.

He says it’s an honor and a privilege to serve the organization and advocate on behalf of Indiana farmers.

Audio: Randy Kron, Indiana Farm Bureau