Indiana corn and soybean growers encourage the U.S. House to follow the lead of the U.S. Senate in passing the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation. The Senate passed the bill last Friday.
Herb Ringel, a farmer from Wabash and president of the Indiana Corn Growers Assn., said TPA is important legislation for Indiana corn producers.
"Trade Promotion Authority is a vital step in completing important global trade deals for farmers, like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Indiana corn farmers export over $410 million of corn every year," Ringel said. "Finalizing deals like TPP will mean more exports of our corn crop and a stronger economic situation for rural communities all across Indiana. We thank Sen. Dan Coats for his support and leadership on this important issue for Indiana farmers. We look forward to working with Indiana's members in the House of Representatives to secure passage and send TPA to the president's desk."
Ringel encourages farmers from across the state to call their congressman and ask them to support Trade Promotion Authority in the House.
David Lowe, president of the Indiana Soybean Alliance, said TPA will benefit Indiana farmers.
"Indiana soybean farmers know trade is important for what we do," he said. "We send every fourth row of soybeans grown in the state to China, and we should be opening up more markets to our products. Trade Promotion Authority is an important step to finalizing new trade agreements with countries in the Pacific Rim, called the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).
In 2013, Indiana's top agricultural exports were $1.7 billion of soybeans, $442 million of soybean meal, $429 million in feeds and fodder, $410 million of corn and $307 million of pork. And every dollar of agricultural export creates an additional $1.27 in business activity for our economy.
"We thank Sen. Dan Coats for his support of this important legislation and we encourage all Indiana farmers to call their congressman and encourage them to support TPA in the House of Representatives," Lowe said.
The House could vote on the bill as early as next month.