Economist: Labor costs, strong dollar fuel growing agricultural trade deficits

A record U.S. agricultural trade deficit has been fueled by rising domestic labor costs that have boosted U.S. imports while falling commodity prices and a strong dollar have suppressed exports, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation writes in a new analysis. The U.S. agricultural trade deficit for fiscal year 2024 is set to exceed $32 billion, according to a May projection from the Agriculture Department. USDA first projected in February that the deficit could exceed $30 billion. In...