Several Colorado Farm Bureau members have had a chance to talk with local media about the impacts of the looming trade war with China and its impact on agriculture.

“…it makes the U.S. farmer and rancher nervous when we have our president talking about limiting our access to world markets.” said CFB Board member Marc Arnusch in an interview with the Denver Post. He described both the direct and indirect impacts of the threatened retaliatory measures from China.

CFB Elite Leadership Academy graduate and San Luis Valley rancher James Henderson spoke to the benefits of the beef trade with China and the value the trade between our two nations beings to a beef carcass. He’s is worried that ag will be a casualty of a trade war between the U.S. and China, fought over things like intellectual property, steel, and services.

“We are the pawns in a trade war. We are the ones taking it on the chin,” Henderson said.

In ColoradoPolitics.com CFB President Don Shawcroft outlined concerns that the China trade spat may spill over into other trade negotiations like NAFTA.

“The long-term impact on agriculture is bigger than on one specific commodity. American farmers export more than 20 percent of their production, and these tariffs threaten the fragile health of the entire agriculture industry.”

Both CFB and AFBF are working diligently to ensure that the threat to agriculture and rural America is mitigated and proposed tariffs are nixed, as the Trump Administration pursues its trade agenda.

For ongoing updates on CFB’s media work, see our Facebook page.