Well-known industry government relations specialist Mary Kay Thatcher provided a federal policy update for attendees at the 2025 AgGateway Annual Meeting.
Much of Thatcher’s presentation focused on the trade and tariff policies of the Trump administration and the rapid-fire announcements of deals with different countries. “Just because something has been announced, the devil is often in the details, and we need to have the piece of paper not just about China but about Japan about Vietnam, all the different agreements, and how they really will play out,” she said in an interview. “And we certainly need to continue to reiterate with the administration just how important exports are for agriculture in the U.S.”
Thatcher noted that the government shut down has to end before Congress can do anything to help farmers before the end of the year. “I suspect that happens sometime between now and Thanksgiving. But then there’s very little time left,” she said. “I think you’ll hear from lots of farmers that it just has to happen. We’re not gonna get help out of the one big beautiful bill and the improvements to the commodity payments and the crop insurance subsidies until October of 2026, and farmers just can’t cash flow with the prices these days. So we need to go ahead and have some kind of assistance soon.”
Learn more in this interview.
Interview with Mary Kay Thatcher (3:47)