If approved as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack will likely receive a lot of media attention as the conduit between a new presidential administration and the nation’s vast agricultural industry.

However, Vilsack is not the only adjustment that Oklahoma farmers and ranchers will be concerned about as policies transition between presidents, said Derrell Peel and other ag economists at Oklahoma State University.

“From a markets perspective, I imagine that international trade issues will have a different feel with the new administration, notably with efforts to open dialogues and stabilize some trade relationships that have been volatile lately,” said Peel, OSU Extension livestock marketing specialist. “I don’t expect those changes will be dramatic or immediate, but it’s something we’ll see over time.”

Amy Hagerman, OSU Extension agricultural and food policy specialist, agreed that resolving retaliatory tariffs and implementing a new trade agreement with China will be a top priority. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has played its own part in realigning markets as consumers in the United States and around the world have been forced to adjust to joblessness, closed restaurants, curfews and sick workers in the supply chain.