As members of Congress representing districts where farming and ranching keep our rural communities alive, we know the challenges producers endure to provide for our country. However, inflation, high interest rates, and erratic weather have driven many farmers across the country to the breaking point.
Farmers need relief in the form of an updated farm bill, and Congress must act. Instead of adjusting the 2018 farm bill to provide reasonable support, Congress extended this legislation in September 2023 without meaningful reforms. Only 12% of that bill is allocated toward farm programs, while much of the rest of the law is dedicated to programs that have little to do with production agriculture.
We need a new, five-year farm bill that prioritizes farmers and farm programs. Due to congressional gridlock, that has not happened in the 118th Congress. That’s why, under President Trump and a Republican-controlled House and Senate, we must produce a farm bill that puts farmers first and bolsters America First production agriculture.
Given the current impasse brought on by partisan games in the Senate, we must intervene to provide immediate assistance to farmers facing significant economic losses.
We do not advocate for assistance lightly, but there is no other option as we approach the end of the year and end of the 118th Congress. American farmers, including growers of corn, cotton, peanuts, rice, sorghum, sugar cane, soybeans, wheat, and other commodities, are estimated to lose roughly $30 billion in 2024. Even worse, many of these farmers are experiencing repetitive losses, and those who are in their second or third years in the red have already eaten into all or most of their equity.
Farming is a capital-intensive business. This year, farm sector debt is projected to reach an all-time high of more than $542 billion.
Additionally, since the 2018 farm bill became law, production costs have increased more than 30% and the prices that farmers receive for their crops have dropped dramatically over the last couple of years. This has resulted in net farm income declining at record levels for the second year in a row, with commodity farmers losing more than $50 billion since 2023, and an even more grim outlook next year.
Farmers can’t endure these conditions for much longer. If Congress does not act quickly, we will not just jeopardize the livelihoods of our farmers and ranchers, but also our nation’s security.
Food security is national security, and we do not want to become dependent on foreign countries to supply our food. Yet we are headed down that path, especially now that the U.S. is in an agricultural trade deficit – meaning we take in more than we export.
There is still time to change course, but Congress must act now to give farmers the immediate economic loss relief they need while continuing to work toward a long-term farm bill. America’s farmers deserve certainty for the future, and Rural America is running out of time to wait.
Reps. Barry Moore, R-Ala., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., contributed to this op-ed.
Clay Higgins represents the 3rd District of Louisiana. Michael Cloud represents the 27th District of Texas. Both are Republicans. Moore represents the 2nd District of Alabama. Boebert represents the 3rd District of Colorado.
Originally published on AgriPulse Online Edition
