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Ag Trade Deficit Reaches Record High $20 Billion Through April

By Ryan Hanrahan

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s Faith Parum reported that “the U.S. agricultural trade deficit is widening in 2025, driven by shifting global trade dynamics and rising import demand. USDA’s Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade: May 2025 report provides projections for exports and imports, offering insight into current trade trends.”

“From January through April, the United States imported $78.2 billion in agricultural products while exporting just $58.5 billion,” Parum reported. “This $19.7 billion deficit is the largest ever recorded for the first four months of a year and signals that the 2025 deficit could surpass previous records.”

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“After decades of consistent trade surpluses, U.S. agriculture has been in an agricultural trade deficit since 2022,” Parum reported. “In fiscal year (FY) 2023, the trade gap reached $16.7 billion and nearly doubled in FY 2024 to $31.8 billion. USDA now forecasts the FY 2025 deficit will rise to approximately $49.5 billion, which would mark the largest agricultural trade imbalance on record.”

Source : illinois.edu

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Assessing Welfare Resources During Late Finish - Dr. Anna Johnson & Emma Coursey

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In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Anna Johnson from Iowa State University and Emma Coursey from the University of Illinois discuss research evaluating welfare resources during the late finishing stage on commercial swine farms. They explain how feeder management, water use, space allocation, and pig health influence welfare outcomes and practical on-farm management. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Small resource issues can become larger welfare problems when multiple stressors interact across finishing barns."

Meet the guests: Dr. Anna Johnson / anna-johnson-05028a14 is the Morrill Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare at Iowa State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from Texas Tech University and completed her master's degree in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on practical solutions that improve farm animal welfare, including sow productive lifetime, animal-human interaction, environmental enrichment, and Precision Livestock Farming.

Emma Coursey / emma-coursey-183810241 is pursuing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine after earning a bachelor's degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University. Her academic interests include swine health, production, and animal welfare, with research experience evaluating welfare resources in commercial finishing pigs.