Cindy Hyde-Smith Warns That The United States's Agricultural Trade Surplus Has 'Evaporated'

5 months ago

During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing in July, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) spoke about Department of Agriculture projections that the United States's agricultural trade surplus will disappear this year, turning into a deficit.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:04Senator Hyde-Smith.

00:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:09And we know that those who buy U.S. grain, both domestically and internationally,

00:15must trust our grain inspection system functions properly.

00:19We know how important that is, and I certainly appreciate all of you

00:22willing to testify today and give us some insight on that.

00:27But this trust is a functional system, and it ensures that farmers,

00:31merchandisers, and end users all know they are operating within a system

00:36that's transparent, that is consistent, and it's science-based.

00:42I hear regularly from farmers and grain elevator operators in Mississippi

00:46who rely on the grain inspection system to protect the value of their grain

00:51and to ensure that they're competing on a level playing field with everyone else.

00:58The Grain Inspection Advisory Committee plays an important role

01:01in helping advise the Federal Grain Inspection Service

01:04navigate the technical and policy challenges of implementing the Grain Standards Act.

01:11And, Mr. Friant, I'm going to let you take this first one.

01:14And I agree with your testimony that the Grain Inspection Advisory Committee

01:18serves a critical role in advising FGIS,

01:21and I appreciate your service and commitment on that committee

01:25and your enthusiasm as well.

01:27But given the technical nature of the grain standards and the weighing systems,

01:31the Advisory Committee's role is essential for ensuring that FGIS actions

01:36continue to facilitate the export of the world's highest quality grain

01:41grown by producers in Mississippi and across the country.

01:45Are there any recommendations you might make to improve

01:50how FGIS incorporates the advice and counsel by the Advisory Committee

01:55into the agency's decision-making process?

01:57Is there something that you would like to suggest today

02:00while you have our attention that we can listen to you on?

02:04Well, thank you very much, Senator, for the question.

02:06I appreciate that.

02:07And the Advisory Committee is near and dear to my heart,

02:10having served three times and participate as a member of the public

02:13as often as possible.

02:15And it has been a great public opportunity for industry and service providers

02:21and producers for public record to talk about the needs

02:24and what we want to see the agency do.

02:26And we've seen some good work come out of that,

02:29and we have some recommendations in our testimony

02:31around how we can ensure that members are appointed

02:36to the committee in a timely manner.

02:38One of the areas that the committee has struggled with

02:40over the last handful of years is folks' term is a three-year term limit,

02:45and they roll off,

02:46and new folks aren't nominated in time to be seated on the committee.

02:50And so we want to see some provisions

02:53around how existing members can stay on the committee

02:56if their time expires at three years

02:59until a new person has been appointed and nominated

03:02to serve and replace that person on the committee.

03:06Yeah, it makes sense that you need that continuity,

03:08and you certainly don't need the void in the spaces there.

03:11I have a little more time left.

03:13But I'd like to highlight the importance of protecting the trade surplus

03:18in the United States.

03:19It has historically maintained the grain and oil seeds,

03:23but while our overall agriculture trade surplus

03:26has evaporated into what USDA now projects

03:30to be a $49 billion deficit in 2025,

03:34grain continues to be the bright spot for agriculture.

03:39And, you know, in fact,

03:41America enjoys $65 billion of trade surplus

03:44on U.S. grains and oil seeds.

03:47Very exciting.

03:48This is a credit to our farmers

03:50who continue to grow the highest quality grain in the world,

03:54and it credits our transportation system,

03:57our infrastructure,

03:58including the critical American waterways, highways,

04:01and rail systems of how we ship this out.

04:03And it's a result of decades of diligent work

04:06to develop and to grow these markets

04:09and to protect these markets.

04:11Mississippi farmers contribute significantly

04:14to our country's grain production,

04:15particularly through crops like rice, soybeans, and corn.

04:18And these crops are exported down the Mississippi River

04:21and through the Gulf of America,

04:24let me get that right,

04:25which supports several grain transport operations

04:28in my home state.

04:30Ensuring we maintain the integrity

04:32of our inspection system

04:34is paramount importance to me,

04:36especially when it relates to our export markets.

04:40But this question is for all of you.

04:42What are some of the challenges

04:43that we face with grain exports?

04:45And what can we do

04:47in the Grain Standards Act's reauthorization

04:49to help overcome those challenges?

04:52If I'm a little bit over,

04:54but if you guys were allowed to answer that right now.

04:58Thank you for that question.

04:59One of the things that you'll likely hear

05:01each of us talk about

05:03is the need for developing technology.

05:06And one of those reasons is down at the exports,

05:09the port locations,

05:10there is not consistency of the volume

05:14that there used to be.

05:15I remember when I was younger,

05:17we would have,

05:18it was always harvest time at harvest time.

05:20We had to staff up for that.

05:21And then usually there was natural attrition

05:23and then you'd get through the summers.

05:25Well, because of just how the market has changed,

05:29there are a lot of ups and downs

05:31as far as volume.

05:33And one thing that we really think

05:35could help in that

05:36in maintaining consistency

05:37is bringing forth more technology

05:40within the grain inspection system

05:42so that we can rely on people,

05:44rely on this technology

05:45and more consistency among people.

05:49So that's something that we think

05:51could really help.

05:56The only thing that comes to mind for me

05:59is as farmers have added

06:00on-farm storage for grain,

06:02it has changed the profile

06:03of when that grain comes to market.

06:05And so if there are areas

06:06where government can target funds

06:08to help farmers in certain areas

06:10to plus up their storage

06:12to maybe make it

06:14a little bit more predictable

06:15and then also education for farmers

06:18because using that storage effectively

06:19doesn't happen by accident.

06:22You do have to know what you're doing.

06:24So I think there's

06:25an educational piece there too.

06:27Very good points.

06:29I think just a timely

06:31and bipartisan reauthorization

06:33of the U.S. Grain Standard Act.

06:34It ensures that continuity

06:36and consistency of the program.

06:38And then to agree with my co-witness,

06:41Ms. Mikesh,

06:42we've talked about it

06:43for a couple years now,

06:45technology.

06:46What technology can we adapt

06:48and adopt for grain grading?

06:50I think it's paramount.

06:51What kind of technology

06:54are you referring to?

06:56So, and I might defer to Kia,

07:00but we've been looking

07:00at a lot of different possibilities.

07:02But I think the biggest one,

07:04and frankly, I've been hearing about it

07:06since the first day

07:07I walked into Cargill

07:08over 20 years ago,

07:09and it's visual imaging technology

07:11to be able to look at a grain sample

07:13and say, what's the level of damage?

07:16Gotcha.

07:16Yeah, very important.

07:20And it could be.

Cindy Hyde-Smith Warns That The United States's Agricultural Trade Surplus Has 'Evaporated'

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