Certainly, farmers are appreciative of the extra financial assistance that Congress provided over the last couple of years. However, I would prefer my income to come from the marketplace. Trade with other nations plays an important part in achieving that goal. Domestic markets alone cannot consume all that farmers in this country produce. We must expand our access for foreign markets to help farmers achieve profitability.
Agriculture is very dependent on the export market.
Iowa ranks second in the nation in agricultural exports with 7.2 percent of all exports coming from my state. Farmers in the U.S. export just over 30 percent of all soybeans produced and about 16 percent of all corn. The U.S. accounts for just under 60 percent of the world's soybean exports and nearly half of the world's corn exports. The value of U.S. farm exports is equivalent to 24 percent of farmers' gross cash income. Congress and the administration promised to reduce taxes, reduce regulations on family farmers and increase our access to foreign markets.