Net farm income has decreased by a concerning 50 percent since 2013 and is projected to decrease even further this year. While a strong farm bill renewal will go a long way mitigating this hit in revenue, it is only part of the battle.
Currently the administration is approximately halfway through the eight rounds of monthly negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, due to conclude in March 2018. America's NAFTA trading partners, Mexico and Canada, account for more than three-fourths of where North Dakota's exports are sold.
That's why it's imperative that any changes to NAFTA protect our producers. A withdrawal from NAFTA would cause over 500 North Dakotan producers to lose their jobs, putting North Dakota in the top five states hit worst. That's why I stand with the bipartisan group of 18 U.S. senators - including Sens. Hoeven and Heitkamp - who've written Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, demanding that he protect agriculture sectors in any trade negotiations.
North Dakota's farmers and ranchers sell approximately $4 billion worth of products overseas every year. Withdrawing from NAFTA will close off foreign markets to producers and decimate our economy. Rather than shrinking those opportunities, we should be expanding the markets available so that North Dakota's producers can access new consumers.
Our state was built by agriculture. With only one congressman representing us in the House of Representatives, it's imperative that we have a representative who stands up for our producers. I'm running for Congress to do just that.
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Editor’s note: Ben Hanson is a candidate for the U.S. House in North Dakota.
