U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today met with former Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia, the nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to discuss her agriculture priorities—including securing a strong Farm Bill in 2018 that protects the safety net, promotes exports, and guarantees critical research funding. Heitkamp also announced she will support Perdue’s nomination.
Heitkamp also discussed the bipartisan bill she just reintroduced to support farmers and American jobs by lifting restrictions on U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba. The biggest barrier North Dakota farmers face as they seek access to Cuba—a market with high demand for the state’s crops—is a prohibition on providing private credit for those exports. Heitkamp and Republican Senator John Boozman of Arkansas first introduced their bipartisan bill to lift the ban on private banks and companies offering credit for agricultural exports to Cuba in April 2015. They reintroduced the bill today with broad bipartisan support.
“Meeting with nominees one-on-one helps me lay out North Dakota’s priorities to potential Cabinet heads. After meeting with Gov. Perdue today, I look forward to confirming him to this important post and working with him to get results for North Dakota farmers and ranchers,” said Heitkamp. “At today’s meeting, I highlighted the bill I just reintroduced to expand agricultural exports to Cuba and the importance of trade for farmers, and reinforced the need for a strong Farm Bill in 2018. Financing restrictions are the top barrier facing North Dakota farmers who want to sell their crops to Cuba, and my bipartisan bill would do away with that obstacle—supporting North Dakota farmers and American jobs in our state that depend on agriculture. Farmers and ranchers are the backbone of North Dakota’s economy, which is why I take this nomination so seriously.”
North Dakota is the 9th largest agriculture exporting state in the U.S., with about $4.1 billion in commodities sold abroad each year. Almost a quarter of North Dakota workers are farmers or ranchers, or work in farm-related jobs—and according to USDA, North Dakota agricultural exports support about 27,000 jobs, reinforcing the importance of expanding exports.
“North Dakota farmers rely on exports to make ends meet. This bipartisan bill would make it easier for us to sell our top-notch black beans and pinto beans to Cuba—a market with high demand for North Dakota crops,” said Dan Fuglesten, of Central Valley Bean Cooperative in Buxton, N.D. “Lifting these outdated and self-imposed restrictions will open a critical market for American farmers and support good jobs right here in North Dakota—and it’s time Congress acted. With commodity prices what they are, we appreciate Senator Heitkamp’s work to expand market access and help American farmers.”
“Cuba is a promising market for crops that folks grow across North Dakota, myself included. But right now, we can’t access that market,” said Terry Borstad, a Devils Lake, N.D. farmer “Whether it’s edible beans or soybeans, Cuba has demand for what we produce. Exports are vital for supporting farmers and for supporting good jobs right here in North Dakota—and Senator Heitkamp’s bill will help increase exports to this critical market.”
Heitkamp also pressed Perdue on the importance of working with Congress to secure a strong Farm Bill that works for North Dakota. A member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Heitkamp helped write, negotiate, and pass the 2014 Farm Bill and has worked to implement and protect the Farm Bill for producers across North Dakota.
Background:
In January 2016, the previous administration loosened export restrictions to allow companies to sell non-agricultural products to Cuba on credit. But legal restrictions on financing agricultural products are still in place, and in February 2016 Heitkamp took to the Senate floor to urge passage of her bill to ease burdens on those seeking to export agricultural products.
For years, Heitkamp and Boozman have pushed to improve agricultural export opportunities to Cuba and make it easier for farmers to sell their crops to this high-demand market. Currently, all U.S. exports to Cuba require cash up front, while other nations around the world offer credit to Cuban importers, in effect preventing farmers and ranchers from being able to ship their products to Cuba. The change in U.S.-Cuba policy would provide at least some relief from low American commodity prices by opening new markets.
Heitkamp’s work to ease export restrictions on U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba is the reason the White House invited her on its historic trip to Cuba last year—the first presidential visit in nearly 90 years. During the three-day trip, Heitkamp met with top U.S. and Cuban leaders—including then-USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Cuban counterparts—to discuss opening agricultural trade. Her focus was on pushing for expanded North Dakota exports to Cuba.
Over the course of the trip, USDA announced it had agreed to Heitkamp’s request to allow federal checkoff programs to spend producer-generated funds to promote U.S. agricultural products in Cuba. USDA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further normalize ties with Cuba in agriculture. This trip was Heitkamp’s second visit to Cuba as a U.S. Senator, following her first visit in February 2014.
Source:.senate.gov