The month of May means different things to different people.  In Indiana, Hoosiers may consider the Indianapolis 500 and its many festivities, planting season being in full swing or the approaching end of the school year.  You may not be aware that May is also World Trade Month.  Indiana Farm Bureau is taking this opportunity to highlight the numerous benefits of trade to Indiana’s farmers, rural communities and the general economy.
(Indiana and Michigan Farm Bureau leaders visiting the European Commission in September 2015 as part of the Agricultural Leadership Exchange)

So why highlight trade?  Given the dire tone and negative rhetoric that surrounds this issue and the fact that every presidential candidate seems vehemently opposed to trade while proposing a seemingly isolationist political stance, you’d think I might consider spending my time on something else.

Well, let us briefly consider a few facts about trade and its role in Indiana for perspective:

• Indiana ranks 8th among the 50 U.S. states in the value of its agricultural exports
• Indiana’s agricultural exports reached an estimated $4.8 billion in 2013, up from $3.8 billion in 2009
• Indiana’s agriculture exports support roughly 36,200 jobs
• Nearly 1 out of every 3 acres of soybeans planted in Indiana are destined for export markets
• Indiana’s top five agricultural exports are: 1. Soybeans – $1.7 billion 2. Soybean meal – $442 million 3. Feeds and fodder – $429 million 4. Corn – $410 million 5. Pork – $307 million

(Over 50 Indiana Farm Bureau members met with officials from the Embassy of Japan during the 2016 INFB Leader Trip to Washington, D.C. in March to discuss trade and TPP)

We frequently hear opponents to new trade agreements argue that trade benefits agriculture at the expense of other industries.  However, a closer look at the collective economic impacts in Indiana seem to show a different picture as noted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

• More than 800,000 Indiana jobs depend on trade and the state’s exports have approached $50 billion annually in recent years.
• Trade does not only benefit large multi-national corporations. Of the 8,258 Indiana companies that export, 85% were small or medium-sized firms.
• Among those leading the charge is the auto sector. Exports of motor vehicles increased by an impressive 89% between 2009 and 2014, topping 2 million cars and trucks for the first time in 2014. U.S.-built cars shipped to China have risen sevenfold since 2009.

Given these realities, it is apparent that expanded international market and exporting opportunities for Indiana farms and businesses will result in added economic value and benefit.

Because of the important role trade plays to the success and viability of Hoosier farmers, Indiana Farm Bureau is encouraging its members to join in the efforts to promote trade opportunities for agriculture and emphasize the need for congress to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

There are many ways Farm Bureau members can participate in the World Trade Month campaign.  A list of resources and information (including most of the trade facts above) can be found at the Indiana Farm Bureau World Trade Month website, including a few suggestions for helping INFB with its trade advocacy efforts.  You can also find a social media script to help you get involved on Facebook and Twitter, following #WorldTradeMonth.

I hope that you will take a moment to join the conversation and inject some Hoosier common-sense into the ongoing trade debate.