Fall Convention Special Session: Russia/Ukraine Update

As reported in the March 13, 2014, edition of Shortliner, the world has watched as Vladimir Putin set in motion a series of events worthy of a Shakespearean history play. After invading and ultimately annexing Crimea earlier this year, Russia continues to send armed troops and tanks into Ukraine to intimidate its citizens and bolster pro-Russian separatists, all the while denying it’s doing so.

The U.S. and the European Union imposed economic sanctions on Russia, who retaliated by implementing an embargo on imports of food and other agricultural products from the U.S., EU nations and their allies.

The former Soviet Republic was an $11.2 billion market for the United States last year, with American farmers exporting $329 million worth of meat and poultry, $195 million worth of nuts and $157 million worth of soybeans. However, Russia’s main trading partner, largest export market and the third-largest importer of Russian goods is the European Union, whose investments in Russia’s economy account for three-quarters of foreign direct investment in the country.

What impact will of this have on American farmers and ranchers, and on Association members who supply parts and equipment to them and who export to Russia and Ukraine?

During his Fall Convention presentation on Thursday afternoon, Howard A. Dahl will deliver an update on developments in Russia and Ukraine and their impact on American agriculture and manufacturing. Mr. Dahl is President and CEO of Amity Technology, LLC. He serves on the Board of Directors of University of North Dakota’s Center for Innovation and the Board of Regents for the Russian American Institute. He also is a Director and Past Audit Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

His company produces equipment for harvesting sugar beets in North America and Russia, and soil sampling equipment sold in more than 25 countries.

For more information about the convention, including the Executive Schedule and speaker profiles, visit FarmEquip.org/FC. S