Agricultural News
Wheat Industry Leader Jimmie Musick of Sentinel Confident Perdue will Improve Farmers' Condition
Fri, 04 Aug 2017 15:17:29 CDT
Sentinel, Okla. wheat farmer and vice president of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), Jimmie Musick, attended Thursday's Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association Convention, to meet and mingle with other leaders in the state's wheat industry. Carson Horn, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network associate farm director, caught up with Musick about his recent activity with NAWG. You can listen to their full conversation, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the page.
Dominating recent discussion in the wheat community, and most all of agriculture for that matter, has been concerns regarding the exportation of wheat, Musick says, given the large stocks left over from a record harvest, low commodity prices and the opportunity to simply expand market access. Representing NAWG, he recently attended a joint meeting in Baltimore on the subject, with NAWG's partner organization, the US Wheat Associates.
"It was a great meeting. Our relationship with US Wheat is very good and we are proud of that," he said. "We really are looking forward to working with them to build those export markets."
Mexico just this week announced the priorities it's chief negotiator, Kenneth Smith Ramos, will seek to pursue in upcoming renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement, scheduled to begin later this month, on August 16th. The goals, made public by the Mexican government, are seemingly in line with those that the US Trade Representative's office recently published themselves, with unfettered agricultural access among the items listed. Musick says he is encouraged by this as a sign of cooperation that could lead to the expedited revision of the treaty and praised Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue for leading the charge.
"I think we have a Secretary of Agriculture that's on board with those issue and those challenges and I think he's going to be able to step up to the plate and make things much better for our export markets."
Musick insists Perdue's commitment to advocating for agriculture will not cease with trade negotiations. He says Perdue's abilities as a negotiator and a leader will be proven a tour de force, as the agricultural community and legislative leaders begin crafting the 2018 Farm Bill.
"We're looking forward to our Secretary setting down with us and going over the issues," he said, "as we work towards the problem of solving those issues. They're out there and we know they are and we want to be a part of the solution, not part of the problem."
Primarily, Musick says NAWG is focused on seeing crop insurance safety net programs maintained in the Farm Bill and improved upon as well.
"One of the main issues we have and don't ever plan on getting away from, is protecting farmers," Musick concluded. "Crop insurance is not slightly important - it's very important."
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