ICYMI: The Advantages of Membership – A Peek into the WIA Trade & Tariff Webinar

By Michelle Pelletier Marshall, Women in Agribusiness Media (June 3, 2025)

Women in Agribusiness offered its first webinar last week as a part of the new offerings included with WIA Membership. Brenna Buckstaff, principal with Kearney, and Michelle Klieger, president of Stratagerm, took on a moving target in their presentation (moderated by Janet Fisher, WIA’s assistant director), “Ag Markets in Motion: Trade, Tariffs, and 2025 Economic Shifts”. The session underscored the need for U.S. agribusiness leaders to build resilience, diversify trade relationships, and adapt strategically to both disruption and opportunity.

More than 30 decision-makers from across the agri-food value chain tuned in to gain timely market intelligence and strategic foresight as well as engage in a lively Q&A with these agricultural economists.

Curious? Here’s a peek at the members-only webinar content. Become a WIA member to enjoy the entire webinar and get your exclusive invite to all upcoming webinars on the most up-to-the-minute topics, as well as other membership benefits (learn more here). (We also offer corporate memberships where you can join the likes of Ardent Mills, Helm Crop Solutions, StoneX and Miller Milling.)

Key Points:

Ag Markets in Motion: Trade, Tariffs, and 2025 Economic Shifts

“We are at a critical juncture – a specific period of time of compressed and intensified uncertainty in which the decisions that are made are of elevated strategic importance, they are very long-ended in terms of the ramifications they may have and that’s where we find ourselves now in this moment that is very volatile, complex and uncertain,” said Brenna Buckstaff, principal with Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council,

Buckstaff stressed that global disruption is accelerating with no signs of letting up, evidenced by three key drivers that, when combined, create significant instability:

1. Deepening geopolitical reordering

2. Evolving geoeconomic fragmentation

3. Intensifying institutional disruption

Deeper discussions took attendees of the webinar through a better understanding of the details of U.S. policy agenda and it effects, including on-again, off-again tariffs:

“The global economic outlook is eroding in all regions, due to unexpected declines in the U.S. and other major economies, with global GDP growth forecasts downgraded sharply in post-Liberation Day projections with 2025 U.S. economic growth projected to grow just 1.5%, down from 2.6% in January,” said Buckstaff.

Michelle Klieger, president of Stratagerm, continued the deep dive into agriculture in the webinar discussion, examining how these macro shifts are affecting exports, input costs and innovation. She emphasized opportunities for U.S. agriculture in local markets, agtech and regional food systems, even amid rising production costs and supply chain reconfigurations.

She focused on agricultural impacts and strategic response:

Tariffs depress agricultural exports, especially for high-volume, low-margin sectors like grains and meat.
Multiple export layers are affected: corn, ethanol, poultry, and DDGS face cascading export risks.
Input costs are rising due to tariffs on equipment, agtech components, and fertilizers—especially where global suppliers are involved.
Some sectors may benefit: local produce, specialty crops, and sustainable aviation fuel markets show growth potential.
Non-tariff trade barriers (NTBs)—such as phytosanitary rules—are harder to detect and harder to reverse than tariffs, especially amid frayed diplomatic ties.
Innovation will speed up in automation and labor substitution, particularly in high-value or labor-intensive crops.
Strategic adaptation needed: regional food systems, local procurement, and resilience planning will be vital.
Ag leaders must balance global uncertainty with domestic innovation opportunities to stay competitive.

Together, the messages of Buckstaff and Klieger painted a clear picture: for leaders in U.S. agribusiness, resilience and reinvention are not optional – they are the strategy. From boardrooms to barns, success in the coming years will depend on the ability to navigate uncertainty, embrace new market dynamics, and invest in systems that deliver both stability and agility.

Get access to more of this exclusive webinar – and many more to come – with a WIA membership.

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