(Radio Iowa) – Harvest season will be starting soon and forecasts predict Iowa will have a record corn crop, which would bring a drop in prices. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says he’s working to continue finding new international markets for Iowa’s top commodities. “The governor and I will be traveling to India just in a little under two weeks as an example of what we’re doing at the state of Iowa, and I’ll be back leading a trade mission in November to Vietnam and Indonesia, so we’re going to continue to push hard,” Naig says. “We received visitors from Canada, Bangladesh and India just at the State Fair a couple of weeks ago, so this is a very active time in terms of trade.” Naig acknowledges this is a challenging situation when looking at prices and profitability for growers of corn and soybeans.

Radio Iowa file photo

“We’re not where we need to be,” he says. “The value of the crop is below the cost of production. That’s not sustainable and that has ripple effects throughout the whole supply chain, everything from equipment to inputs.” While many Iowans have been concerned about the Trump administration’s tariffs, Naig says those tariffs are translating to trade opportunities, including with partners in the U-K, Japan and Korea. “This is something that doesn’t have one solution,” Naig says. “We need to make sure we’re unleashing biofuels, year-round access to E-15, sustainable aviation fuel. We’ve got to use more of what we grow and let’s do it here domestically, but let’s also export it.”

Naig made his comments during a visit to northwest Iowa this week at the Heritage Bison Ranch near Hinton.