In today’s volatile international trade environment being churned by a major disease outbreak, tariffs and other factors, the newly signed trade agreements with China, Mexico, Canada and Japan, along with an existing agreement with South Kor­ea, offer some certainty for U.S. farmers according to Sam Funk, Iowa Farm Bureau Fed­­eration (IFBF) dir­ector of ag analytics and senior economist.

“What they really bring us is some balance and security,” Funk said last week during an IFBF policy surfacing discussion in West Des Moines. “It’s all about en­­sur­­ing ourselves market access and protecting the markets that are...