b'DEMANDA erican Grownmthe livelihoods of our neighbors and welfare of our communities.I am not worried about farmers in Florida or North Carolina, says Georgias top economic driver is agriculture, and purchasingGoodman. They are American farmers and are operating under Georgia products not only supports the farmers but ripplesthe same cost structure and government regulations that I am.throughout the supply chain.Carter says the import issue is exacerbated by the coronavirus Level Playing Field (COVID-19) pandemic. Not only do American producers face Advocating for the financial stability of family farms, Americanforeign competitors who can produce their products much Grown is also using its platform to inform consumers andcheaper and often year-round, the pandemic dramatically reduced governmental leaders about the importance of limiting foodthe market for American goods.imports to the U.S.Agricultural Impact: Russ Goodman, blueberry farmer in Clinch County, and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler)Dealing with increased imports from Mexico, Goodman and Goodman says for South Georgia farmers to compete withother South Georgia farmers antici-pated some relief with the imports, mostly from Mexico, a level playing field needs to benew United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which established. replaced the decades-old NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) on July 1, 2020.Agreeing that competition is inevitable within any industry, American farmers arent as concerned with their domesticHailed as a better deal for American farmers, consumers, and counterparts, its the imports that are putting fruit and vegetableworkers, by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), farmers at a higher financial risk.BUSINESS + CULTURE 29'