The Reality on the Ground:
Calls for Action Grow as Financial Picture Worsens
Key Takeaways
- As lawmakers return to Washington, producers are calling on Congress to pass emergency assistance and Farm Bill 2.0.
- Producers are facing high and rising input costs, low commodity prices, and weather and market volatility.
- These circumstances have created the perfect storm, and producers are calling on Congress to act.
In late March, we took some time to celebrate National Agriculture Week and National Agriculture Day. In our recent articles, we’ve highlighted the reality that farmers across the nation are facing: a perfect storm. A combination of low commodity prices, high and rising input costs, and weather and market volatility is threatening the future of many family farming operations.
As lawmakers return to Washington this week, producers are calling on Congress to act by passing meaningful assistance for producers weathering this storm, and by also advancing the long-awaited Farm Bill 2.0.
We’ve noted before the key improvements made through reconciliation that make large strides in bolstering the farm safety net – but those will take time to fully kick in and be felt by producers.
Don’t just take it from us.
As Mr. Nathan Reed, Chairman of the National Cotton Council, put it in a recent Senate Agriculture Committee hearing,
“Despite these enhancements, more must be done to ensure our growers can withstand the current economic losses in the short term.”
Over 50 key agriculture groups penned a letter to President Trump outlining the dire situation, writing,
“Now is the time to ensure that American agriculture can weather this period of extraordinary strain. Without timely assistance, continued losses risk accelerating farm closures, reducing domestic production capacity and weakening the ability of farmers and ranchers across this great nation to provide food, clothes and fuel for the American people.”
President Trump, while hosting nearly 1000 farmers from across the nation at the White House in celebration of National Agriculture Day, highlighted the need for additional assistance, stating,
“I’m also asking Congress to quickly pass the new Farm Bill, and today I’m promising to request additional farm relief for our great patriots and the next funding bill so we have you taken care of in both instances. And we’re pushing very hard for the new Farm Bill.”
Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven (R-ND) echoed the sentiment in a recent statement.
“We continue working to get our ag producers through this tough stretch until the enhanced farm safety net provisions we passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill come into full effect in October. President Trump is a vital ally in this effort, and we appreciate his support for moving the assistance package that I’m working to craft with Senate Ag Committee Chairman Boozman.”
House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA), in recent comments, also stressed the importance of passing the next Farm Bill for the future of rural America.
“The whole purpose of the Farm Bill is to make farming profitable again so the next generation wants to stay on the farm, wants to continue the legacy.”
Producers are grateful for the support received – but more must be done as producers are left reeling. Food security is national security – and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
As some have previously noted, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Congress: Now is the time to stand by America’s farm families.
Need a Farm Bill refresher? Find a high-level, title-by-title history and overview of this crucial piece of legislation that impacts every American, from the field to the dinner plate, here. Plus, learn about agricultural policy straight from America’s heartland on the Groundwork podcast.