This week’s reads on inflation, higher interest rates, and a strong dollar are disproportionately affecting rural industries, especially agriculture.
A new report from CoBank shows our export partners are having a hard time affording U.S. products. Rob Fox, the company’s Director of Knowledge Exchange says the U.S. economy is outperforming other countries, making it more expensive for them to buy our goods.
He says when you combine a drop in exports with a slowdown in the economy, it makes operating a rural business even harder.
Fox says in recent years, current geopolitical events, as well as turmoil in Washington, have sent commodity prices and the dollar up in tandem, but those are starting to fade as market drivers.
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