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Trade disputes giving farmer déjà vu

A central Indiana farmer says the current trade climate has him experiencing déjà vu.

Mike Beard tells Brownfield he bought a second farm in the 1980s around the same time that President Jimmy Carter issued a grain embargo against the Soviet Union.

He says the trade disruption almost caused him to lose everything.

“I nearly lost that farm and the farm that I had previously over the next 10 years,” he says. “As luck would have it, I just recently purchased another farm and gee, déjà vu all over again.”

The USDA has said they will provide support to farmers.  Beard says while he appreciates the sentiment, he doesn’t think payments are a long-term solution.

“I can’t see any kind of a crop payment or a “make good” payment making any of us whole,” he says. “It’s too expensive.”

Beard spoke to Brownfield at an ag policy discussion at Miklozek farms in Terre Haute. The event is part of a shop talk series by Indiana Corn Growers Association and Indiana Soybean Alliance.

Audio: Mike Beard, Indiana farmer 

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