The U.S. ag industry has gotten used to celebrating strong exports over imports, but this year put a damper on those celebrations.
USDA data shows U.S. ag exports during June came to around $12.7 billion while imports were just shy of $16 billion.
Since January, the deficit is more than $9.9 billion. Economist Ben Brown with the University of Missouri points to a few items like soybean oil, which we are using more of. He notes grain and feed exports are also down nearly 20 percent year-over-year.
