DORCHESTER, Neb.— For the next few months, an RV will be embarking on a trip across the country, seeking to share the stories and struggles of farmers with the public and the government.

The first stop on this Motorcade for Trade initiative: Dorchester, Nebraska, at the start of this month. Nebraska U.S. Representative Adrian Smith was a featured guest, telling a group of about two dozen farmers he hopes Americans never take for granted where their food comes from.  

"We’ve heard some folks opposed to tariffs now that we never heard from before, I think that’s elevating the conversation in coffee shops across America. That’s healthy," Smith said in his address. "As these conversations and discussions – call them arguments from time to time, those are bound to happen – but I think that increases understanding and awareness."

The speakers in Dorchester all underscored how essential trade is to Nebraska’s economy, especially for those in the agricultural sector, and even in the face of persistent challenges like high input costs and low commodity prices.

"We know that in Nebraska we’re more abnormally affected, or more outsized affected by trade, than many other states," Nebraska Farm Bureau board president Mark McHargue said. "About 30 percent of our products are exported, more than other states. That’s great because we are an ag powerhouse – we are the third largest commodity state in the country."

"A lot of time when we’re talking about trade we’re talking about exports: 25 percent of farm revenue comes from exports, and it’s even higher in Nebraska. The other side of the equation’s important too, though: we’re buying stuff from other countries that are farm inputs," said Brian Keuhl, executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, the organization behind the cross-country campaign. "There’s a reason farmers care about tariffs, and it’s because we buy a lot of stuff. Any farmer will tell you they’re buying a lot of stuff, they’re low margin businesses...so if there are tariffs on those parts, those tractors get more expensive, that makes it harder for farmers to farm."

"I asked to be on the Ways and Means Committee because of the importance of trade in our community and jurisdiction, and the importance of trade to Nebraska agriculture, American agriculture, and consumers in general," Smith said. "Very grateful to talk about how we can grow our markets, whether it’s putting more resources into a farm bill policy to promote trade, whether it’s working on various targeted efforts to support the leveling of the playing field...over time, we have given other countries more access to our markets than they’ve given us access to theirs. This is very serious, and I’m glad that we’re starting to see that change."

Ultimately, the hope is that this RV’s trip across the country and further dialogue in places like Dorchester will help the public sympathize with the potential plights many farmers are facing, while encouraging elected officials to place an even higher importance on trade. 

"We need that opportunity to sell our products, so we do have a viable farm - because at the cost of upwards of 85 cents a bushel below our cost of production, it’s not going to be very viable for some of these guys next year to even have funds to operate again," said one member of the audience. "We just want a viable opportunity to sell our products."

"One thing we know is that farm country is hurting. We’re on the verge of a farm crisis," said Keuhl. "You heard in the presentation earlier that farm inputs are expensive, and farmers’ cost of production is above what they can get from selling their product. You can do that for a year, maybe for two years, but eventually, it catches up, and you’ll start to see illiquidity, farm bankruptcies and foreclosures, and those are real, tragic, personal stories. These are families, often multi-generational families that are losing their farms. I think if we have one goal it’s to capture those stories, share them with Congress, and encourage Congress to play its role."

"We’re in the strategy [phase] of where we’re at on trade – the trick now is we have to get it done," said McHargue, who said he attended discussions about this subject in Washington, D.C. earlier in the week. "We thanked them for making sure that agriculture is a part of all these trade conversations, which is not a given and has not been a given in the past. It is a part of it, but they really aren’t doing us any good until we actually get some sales, and we need that desperately."

That, Smith says, is a way to rectify some of the "acute economic issues" that Nebraska farmers must continue to endure. 

"We landed the plane on tax policy, that’s going to be good for the economy. And when we can land the plane on trade policy, that can be good for the economy as well," Smith said after the event. "The details matter, and I’m very glad to hear that there’s been a growing interest – by other countries – to open up their markets. That’s good for us."

"We have to recognize that we’re not going to make those changes [to the supply chain, etc.] overnight," said Keuhl. "And in the meantime, farmers can’t wait a year, they can’t wait two years. Cost of production right now is too high, and commodity prices are too low, and that’s really going to ripple through rural America. If we don’t have trade, Nebraska’s economy is in serious trouble."