The death of Fidel Castro this week sent south Florida into a tizzy and upended Cuban diplomatic relations with the incoming Trump administration.But on the High Plains, the demise of the island nation’s Communist leader is having a different effect.
In the wake of the Obama administration’s loosening of the U.S. trade embargo with the country, many High Plains ag producers found the new Cuban market to be an export boon.
As Agweb reports, U.S. agricultural exports to the island have averaged $365 million a year since 2012.
Meanwhile, U.S. agribusinesses have been eyeing the new Cuban market as an outlet for the sale of ag equipment. These outfits include Deere & Co., the world’s largest farm-equipment maker, and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., one of the world’s largest agricultural-commodity traders. Ken Golden, a Deere spokesman, explained that there’s “a need in Cuba for modern, productive farm and construction machinery.”
