U.S. Department of Agriculture: Record High Agriculture Exports

Aug 31, 2012

U.S. Agriculture Exports 2013 Fiscal Year Reaches Historical High

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has forecasted that they will export $143.5 billion worth of agriculture goods in the 2013, setting an all-time record high; and the combination of higher prices for major commodities such as corn and wheat have pushed the forecast above the past three year’s record export highs.

“Even with tough odds due to extreme weather, U.S. agriculture is now poised for three consecutive years of record exports, smashing all previous records and putting America’s agricultural sector on pace to achieve President Obama’s goal under the National Export Initiative of doubling exports by the end of 2014. These exports will support more than 1 million jobs in communities across the country,” said Tom Vilsack, U.S. Agriculture Secretary.

In conjunction with high agricultural exports, the USDA also predicts that there will be a record high of imports of tropical oils, coffee, sugar and rubber as a result of the decline of global prices for these products.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.