When it comes to ag exports, there are two sides to the equation: trade and infrastructure.
House Ag Committee Chair, GT Thompson, shares what could be on the radar for Congress this session.
“It won’t be infrastructure in terms of canals, ports which needs to be addressed. We need to modernize in a serious way. I mean we have ports of entry and ports of export. They cannot accommodate these larger shipping vessels that we now have. So, for whatever reason the United States has not kept up with those investments and we need to do that. We need to be able to move our agricultural commodities efficiently.
“We need to make this a place where these companies that operate these vessels want to come to, right? Also, we need to look at some policies, like there’s an awful lot of shipping containers that are going back empty, specifically to China and that’s wrong. We’re buying products and they need to be fulfilling their trade promises and buying our commodities.”
Congressman Thompson says trade was a hot topic at the listening session with farmers this week at the World Ag Expo.
At CattleCon 2026 in Nashville, RealAg Radio’s Shaun Haney discusses profitability, consumer demand, and how the integrated U.S.–Canada beef supply chain impacts cattle producers across North America.
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Incremental trade clarity with India could support select U.S. ag exports, but major gains hinge on future market-access talks.
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Mexico has fallen behind by several hundred thousand acre-feet in required water deliveries to the United States, a shortfall that has had devastating consequences across the Rio Grande Valley.
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Purdue University Professor of Agricultural Economics Dr. Jim Mintert shares a closer look at farmer sentiment and the key issues shaping the agricultural economy in January.
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Stronger U.S.-Guatemala trade rules favor dependable, regionally integrated supply chains — rewarding execution and commitment over cost-only sourcing.
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