Fischer Joins Colleagues in Urging USDA to Support Sugarbeet Farmers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined her Senate colleagues in signing a letter urging U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to take immediate action in implementing a provision designed to support sugarbeet farmers affected by adverse weather.

“The past two years have been devastating for Cooperative farmers working in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming due to significant weather events,” the senators wrote. “In 2018 and 2019, growing regions across these states experienced freezing temperatures in early October before sugarbeets are typically harvested.

“We urge the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take immediate action in implementing the sugarbeet eligibility provisions that were passed in the FY20 Appropriations bill as a part of the Wildfire, Hurricane, and Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+). Since its inception, this program has been essential for farmers during adverse weather growing seasons. Currently, USDA’s swift action is necessary for Western Sugar Cooperative’s (the Cooperative) farmers in order to obtain operating loans for the 2020 crop in the next thirty days.”

The bipartisan letter was led by U.S. Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and also signed by Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in addition to Senator Fischer.

–Senator Fischer