The National Farmers Union says that continued delays in a new Farm Bill create uncertainty for the farm economy.
It was a big topic at their recent legislative fly-in in Washington, DC.
According to Mike Stranz, the VP of Advocacy for NFU, “Farmers Union members from across the country shared their stories about how the farm economy is, if it isn’t in a crisis, it’s well on its way to one right now. The economic indicators are not looking good; there are alarm bells sounding and lights flashing on the dashboard, so to speak, when it comes to the farm economy. We shared a lot of stories and statistics about how that is shaping up and how that is impacting Farmers Union members at their farm and their communities around the country.”
Stranz says that members are also pushing for local food procurement agreements in a Farm Bill.
“Earlier this year, we spent a lot of time talking about the funding freezes and program cuts that happened right at the beginning of the Trump administration. There was, for instance, a very popular program that we heard a lot about from farmers across the country that helped local farmers connect with institutions and community organizations and schools to sell produce and farm products locally, that was cut and eliminated at the beginning of this administration.”
There are bills in both the House and Senate right now that tackle that issue.
They would ensure farmers receive a larger share of the retail dollar by channeling more of their food directly into local communities.
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