WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD-TV) — America’s farmers are running out of cushion. Rising costs, weaker commodity prices, and inconsistent policy signals are tightening margins across the countryside, says John Newton, Ph.D., vice president of public policy and economic analysis for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).
Despite producing the food, fiber, and fuel that drive $6 trillion in economic activity and support one in five U.S. jobs, many family farms face mounting uncertainty — not from weather, but from economic and regulatory strain. Newton argues that rebuilding stability requires “a promise worth keeping”: clear, consistent policies that restore certainty to farm operations nationwide.
AFBF’s key priorities include fair, enforceable trade agreements that protect market access; expanded support for biofuels such as ethanol and sustainable aviation fuel; and restoring whole milk options in schools to strengthen nutrition and dairy demand.
Newton also highlights the need to safeguard interstate commerce from conflicting state-level mandates, investigate pricing imbalances in fertilizer and equipment markets, and prioritize American-grown fruits and vegetables in federal purchasing. Each measure, he says, helps rebuild a dependable marketplace for producers.
Agriculture’s partnership among growers, buyers, and policymakers must be renewed, Newton concludes. “Keeping farmers in business is not optional — it’s essential to America’s strength.”
Farm-Level Takeaway: The Farm Bureau urges trade enforcement, biofuel growth, fair input pricing, and pro-farmer policy reforms to restore long-term certainty.
Tony St. James, RFD-TV Markets Expert
In today’s Firm to Farm blog post, Roger McOwen breaks down the Court’s regulations on unconstitutional federal power and the ruling’s impact on BOI reporting.
March 11, 2024 03:00 PM
·
Watch
Megan Shanley Warren, of
Shanley Farms in Morro Bay, California, carry on her late father’s legacy, cultivating avocados and the tastiest fruit you haven’t yet discovered: finger limes.
March 11, 2024 01:49 PM
·
Clemson blue cheese has become a decades-long calling for Cheese Maker Anthony Pounders, who leads a team of student staff who get to work each morning way before the crack of dawn.
The Dorns’ revolutionary approach at Hickory Hill Milk has garnered attention.
What can these facilities do to protect themselves? I wrote about this issue last spring, and since that time, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has issued a significant opinion. That makes an update in order.
February 28, 2024 11:04 AM
·
Updated Dicamba information is the topic of today’s Firm to Farm blog post by RFD-TV’s agri-legal expert Roger McEowen with the Washburn School of Law.
February 27, 2024 11:19 AM
·
In this Firm to Farm blog post by RFD-TV legal expert Roger McEowen, he looks ahead at what might be the biggest issues in ag law and tax in 2024.
February 23, 2024 01:50 PM
·
In part seven of his blog series,"Top 10 Developments in Ag Law and Tax in 2023,” agri-legal expert Roger McEowen covers the #1 issues, SCOTUS and defining a “Water of the United States.”
February 22, 2024 01:15 PM
·
Mon, 2/19/24 – 8 PM ET | 7 PM CT | 6 PM MT | 5 PM PT
February 14, 2024 12:44 PM
