The top issues among farmers attending this week’s National Farmers Union Convention in Kansas City were farm income, the new farm bill and trade policy. Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen says with current commodity prices most farmers are not above break even and can’t generate positive net farm income.
He says the new farm bill needs more effective price support programs.
Hansen says the nation’s trade policy must also be revamped to deal with the extremely large trade deficit.
Hansen says last year the U.S. trade deficit was $553 billion. On an annual basis, that represents 3-percent of the Gross Domestic Product or GDP. He says that’s part of the reason the economy only grew about 1.5-percent in 2017.
