Aug. 24, 2023

This paid event piece is sponsored by the Midwest Agricultural Export Summit.

From a cautionary approach to China as an export market to emerging areas of global opportunity, national and regional leaders brought a range of insights to Sioux Falls for the Midwest Agricultural Export Summit.

“This event is primarily about supporting our farmers and ranchers here in the Midwest by increasing agricultural exports,” said Luke Lindberg, president and CEO of South Dakota Trade.

“Our products are sold all around the world, but the same buyers we’ve sold to in the past won’t necessarily be the ones we sell to in the future. No business wants to be overly reliant on one or two customers, and that’s why we are focusing on market diversification this year.”

For instance, Wednesday’s event brought “a great deal about managing the risk associated with an over-reliance on China as an export market, but we also heard about new opportunities in export markets that some folks don’t often consider such as Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain,” Lindberg said.

“One of the key takeaways was that today’s trade flows are vastly different than they were even three or four years ago. Our farmers and ranchers need to be both aware of the ever-changing geopolitics of trade and constantly be building and fostering relationships with foreign buyers or risk being left behind. Black swan events like COVID-19 and Russia’s war on Ukraine further reinforce the need for creating an extensive network of trade partners.”

 The annual invitation-only event drew participation from farmers, ranchers, business and policy leaders, association leaders and state government officials from South Dakota and six neighboring states: Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Montana.

“The heartland has a rich history of working across state lines to support our farmers and ranchers,” said Secretary Hunter Roberts, who leads the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “South Dakota Trade is playing an important role in increasing collaboration on regional agricultural exports.”

“We believe that a regional approach to exports is crucial to the long-term viability of agriculture in the heartland,” Lindberg agreed.

“In 2022, the United States imported more food than it exported. This is bucking the trend of the past decade, when we on average exported $12.5 billion more food than we imported. That shift from net export to importer is dramatic and unsettling. One contributing factor is the lack of a cohesive trade agenda in our nation’s capital. Meanwhile, China is only getting more aggressive in its own outreach to new markets.”

Keynote speaker Linda McMahon brought a broad perspective to the event. From small-town roots, she went on to build a multinational public company, World Wrestling Entertainment, and most recently served as head of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“Building a strong workforce remains one of the biggest challenges for the agriculture industry today,” McMahon said. “One way to help solve this challenge is by creating and expanding apprenticeship opportunities in agribusiness.”

McMahon “is a tremendous leader who believes in the dignity of work and the promise of America,” Lindberg added. “Her message today resonated with a lot of audience members who are struggling with many aspects of today’s economy.”

A foreign buyer panel addressed trade opportunities in the Abraham Accords signatory countries; the Abraham Accords are a series of normalization agreements negotiated by the Trump administration that create diplomatic relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Panelists included:

• Rose Sager, trade representative, Kingdom of Bahrain Embassy to the U.S.
• Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, national chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
• Karim Gamal, director of Trade and Commercial Office, UAE Embassy to the U.S.

“The accords have broad bipartisan support,” Lindberg said. “We chose to highlight these markets as a way to promote the normalization process and find areas where we can increase trade with the signatory countries.”

The summit then devoted a discussion to the future of the U.S.-China relationship, which Lindberg calls the most frequently discussed matter in international trade. Panelists were:

• Michelle Bekkering, national engagement director, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.
• Steve Yates, chair, China Policy Initiative, America First Policy Institute.
• David Thomas, senior vice president, U.S.-China Business Council.

“We brought together national thought leaders who have different perspectives on the issue to educate our audience about the opportunities, risks and current status of diplomatic relations,” Linbderg said. “The lively conversation was emblematic of the challenges that lie ahead.”

Other panels focused closer to home on markets, products and pain points, as well as the Farm Bill and federal trade priorities.

“What many people don’t know about our congressional delegation is that they punch above their weight in Washington on trade matters,” Lindberg said. “The most consequential piece of legislation in the post-COVID-19 trade regime is the Ocean Shipping and Reform Act. Congressman Dusty Johnson and Sen. John Thune were both prime sponsors in their respective chambers, and this bipartisan bill has made a significant impact on global supply chains.”

A final panel epitomized the quality of the event’s speakers, looking at how America can build a secure and resilient food system. Panelists were:

• Kip Tom, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Agencies in Rome.
• Gregg Doud, chief economist, Aimpoint Research; and former U.S. chief agricultural negotiator.
• Gary Black, managing partner, On Point Solutions; and former commissioner of agriculture, state of Georgia.

“Ambassador Kip Tom served as our top diplomat to the United Nations for food and agriculture, Ambassador Gregg Doud negotiated the phase one trade agreement with China as the chief agricultural negotiator of the United States, and former Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black leads a company that promotes American agriculture all over the world,” Lindberg said.

“To top it off, Kimberly Reed, who is my former colleague at the Export-Import Bank of the United States and was the panel moderator, previously led the Food Information Council Foundation, which communicates science-based information about sustainable food systems. This group of luminaries provided actionable intelligence to the audience about the future of American agriculture.”

The Midwest Agricultural Export Summit “is unique in bringing together both regional and national leaders to do two important things: collaborate and strategize about the future,” Tom said. “Luke and his team are strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness by hosting today’s important summit.”

Lindberg’s organization, South Dakota Trade, is positioned to help advance the state’s export market. This September, it will lead its first trade delegation to Mexico City, and it recently received a $175,000 State Trade Expansion Program grant from the SBA to directly support small-business exports.

“South Dakota Trade is building momentum, thanks to our dedicated partners and the focused work of our team,” Lindberg said.

“High-profile opportunities like our upcoming trade mission and the Midwest Agricultural Export Summit get us back ‘at the table,’ although do not represent the majority of our work, which is helping companies navigate trade and providing education to those looking to access new markets.”

To learn more about South Dakota Trade, click here.