A handful of farm groups say the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation goals favor corporate agribusiness over family farmers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Politico reports that a coalition of farm groups argues that increasing exports won’t replace the need for fair prices in disputes such as the one over Canada’s dairy supply management system, along with eliminating restrictions on genetically engineered crops. The group includes the U.S. National Family Farm Coalition, Canada’s National Farmers Union and Mexico’s National Association of Rural Producers, as well as the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Officials with the Mexican National Association of Rural Producers says the “whole process should begin with a thorough, independent evaluation of NAFTA’s economic, social, environmental and governance impacts,” adding “the new NAFTA should support local farming communities.

The largest farm groups in the U.S., Canada and Mexico offered a sign of unity Wednesday over the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations. The American Farm Bureau Federation, Canadian Federation of Agriculture and Mexico’s National Agricultural Council issued a joint statement supporting NAFTA and how the trade agreement supports agriculture in each of the NAFTA nations. AFBF says agriculture industries in each NAFTA country would greatly suffer from disruptions to trading relationships developed over the last 23 years. Meanwhile, the U.S. Grains Council says it will be engaged closely with the negotiations to help achieve a conclusion “that provides long-term certainty and creates a new platform for growth and integration of our regional feed and fuel industries.” Grains Council CEO Tom Sleight says: “Both farmers and negotiators must understand how important these markets – and free trade – are to agriculture’s profitability.”

A new report issued on Monday shows the dicamba damage footprint is still growing. Both the number of investigations and damaged acres are climbing, especially in the Midwest. Kevin Bradley, a plant science professor at the University of Missouri, compiled the data and it shows complaints of off-site dicamba movement now cover 21 states, stretching from North Dakota to Georgia. Through state departments of agriculture surveys, at least 2,242 official investigations have taken place up through August 10th. Estimates from state weed extension experts show suspected dicamba damage totals 3.1 million acres, an area about the size of Connecticut. The number of investigations across the country has grown exponentially as well. The report issued just three weeks earlier showed 1,411 investigations across roughly 2.5 million acres. Bradley says the ultimate effect any dicamba damage will have on yields and farmer profits will be difficult to guess until harvest time. “In reality, we will likely not know the extent of dicamba damage until the end of the season,” Bradley says.

As NAFTA renegotiations begin on Wednesday, U.S. negotiators are planning to introduce a proposal aimed at making it easier for produce growers to bring potential anti-dumping cases against Mexico. Politico’s Morning Ag Report says that’s a move that will make Southeast growers happy, but it could also fuel criticism of the Trump administration’s protectionism. The proposal would make it easier for U.S. fruit and vegetable producers to prove that Mexico is dumping produce into the U.S. at below-market prices. The current rule says U.S. producers need to prove damage by gathering three years of seasonal data. The new U.S. proposal would make it possible to prove dumping cases through using a single season’s worth of data. However, there are groups against the proposed move. Lance Jungemeyer, President of the Fresh Produce Association of America called it a “Pandora’s box.” He says, “If tomato growers in the Carolinas do it, if Florida does it, if New Jersey does it, you’re looking at what could essentially be a year-round tariff.” Jungemeyer’s group represents Mexican growers and advocates for free trade in produce across the Americas.

With the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations set to begin on Wednesday, the National Pork Producers’ Council is just one of the many agricultural groups weighing in on the topic. The NPPC is urging the administration to maintain a zero-tariff rate on pork traded in North America. President Trump has made renegotiating NAFTA a priority even before taking office. “Canada and Mexico are top export markets for our pork, so, obviously, we don’t want any disruption in our exports to those countries,” says NPPC President Ken Maschoff, “and we need to keep pork exports flowing.” Like many other agricultural groups, the Pork Producers want to reemphasize to the administration what a boon NAFTA has been for American agriculture. The original agreement first went into effect on January 1, 1994. Since then, U.S. trade north and south of the border has more than tripled. Trade with Canada and Mexico has grown more rapidly than U.S. trade with the rest of the world. Canada is the number two overall market for American agricultural products and Mexico is number three.

U.S. beef products are struggling to gain traction following a return to China after a 14-year ban. Bloomberg reports that U.S. cuts of beef are largely unnoticeable in China’s meat isles. China, the world’s largest pork producer and consumer, has seen beef demand climb as incomes increase, prompting people to spend on new and varied types of food. Imports are predicted to climb to 950,000 metric tons this year from 26,000 tons in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, out of 600,000 head of cattle slaughtered in the U.S. each week, only about 1,600 can meet Chinese specifications. Currently, what’s being exported to China is processed into small strips for stir-fry dishes. A Rabobank analyst says U.S. beef trade with China will grow gradually, but adds it doesn’t’ seem likely trade will increase “to the extent that would affect China’s beef market, because of its limited supply.”

With the first round of negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement set for Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal listed agriculture as an issue to watch throughout the negotiation process. Noting that corn, beef and pork producers are happy with the current NAFTA, The Wall Street Journal points out that disagreements over agriculture can quickly turn bitter in trade talks. When President Trump threatened to withdraw from NAFTA, some Mexican politicians warned that their nation could import corn from other Latin American nations instead of the U.S. Meanwhile, Labor, trade deficits, rules of origin, currency manipulation and immigration also top the list of issues to watch during the renegotiation.

Canada plans to protect its dairy system under a new North American Free Trade Agreement. As the first round of talks get underway Wednesday, Canada officials say they will protect the nation’s system of tariffs and quotas that keep domestic dairy prices high and imports low. U.S. dairy farmers strongly dislike the system and want it dismantled. Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland laid out the nation’s goals for NAFTA during a speech Monday. She also suggested that Canada could walk away from the talks if the U.S. pushed to remove a key dispute-settlement mechanism in the trade deal, according to Reuters. Canada opposes Washington’s plan to scrap the so-called Chapter 19 dispute settlement mechanism, under which binational panels made binding decisions on complaints about illegal subsidies and dumping. The United States has frequently lost such cases.