The Farm Bill is one of several large items on lawmaker’s radar when they return from summer recess. Producers have been waiting for a new five-year Farm Bill for more than a year, and now some are warning they could be out of business if one is not passed soon.
North Carolina cotton producer David Dunlow told House ag lawmakers producers are worried. Several Washington leaders have said another extension of the 2018 Farm Bill is likely, but Dunlow warns that will not cut it, pointing to how production costs have risen since 2018. He says the current situation is the worst he has seen in 40 years of farming.
Retailers are hurting, too, saying everything is on the line.
“When a farmer plants a crop, they put more than just their job at risk. Their farm is their home, their livelihood, and a pillar in their community. For many, it is also their family legacy, something passed down to them over the generations that they hope to pass down to their kids. Eventually putting farmers and rural communities where they live in dire straits. We’re facing rapidly declining commodity prices and inflation that have driven up the expenses of farm equipment and farm inputs. Farm incomes are off nearly 50 percent from the last two years,” said Joey Caldwell.
The National Farmers Union is also concerned. As the group prepares for its fall legislative fly-in, they told AgInfo.net their largest talking point is policy, and the Farm Bill is front and center.
“Farm Bill is kind of at a juncture here, where things seem to be stagnating a bit. The House Agriculture Committee, having passed a bill back in May, they got through the Committee. Then on the Senate side, there are competing frameworks out there, one from the Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats and one from the Republicans. We need to see some action on a farm bill if we’re going to get one done this year and we need to see it soon,” said Vice President of Advocacy, Mike Stranz.
Congress returns to Capitol Hill on September 9th. A Farm Bill decision will need to happens soon, with the 2018 legislation expiring on September 30th.
