NFU calls for farm aid as negotiations falter

National Farmers Union President Rob Larew called on Congress to provide aid to farmers before the end of the session next week, while DTN/The Progressive Farmer reported that “nearly $10 billion in immediate economic aid to farmers could be lost because House Republican leaders oppose how Democrats came up with the money for the aid.”

Larew said in a statement Wednesday, “I’ve spent the past several weeks speaking directly with Farmers Union members across the country, and they have made one thing crystal clear: Congress must take action to provide immediate relief for farmers and ranchers.”

Family farmers and ranchers are grappling with the aftermath of natural disasters, volatile commodity prices, high input costs and declining net farm income. With Congress indicating that it will not pass a renewed five-year farm bill before the end of the year, it is even more essential to provide substantive assistance to commodities impacted by current economic challenges.

“We urge Congress to take swift action by passing a farm bill extension and economic relief before the year’s end, and to prioritize bipartisan negotiations to deliver a comprehensive five-year farm bill as soon as possible in 2025. Family farmers and ranchers deserve solutions now and a commitment to a stronger future.”

DTN reported that staff for Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., “found a way to move the conservation dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into the baseline for the farm bill,” but Republicans have not agreed to it.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., on Wednesday demanded congressional negotiators agree to provide both natural disaster and market loss assistance for farmers across the country.Hyde-Smith serves on both the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.”

Our farm economy is headed in a dark and scary direction. I hope all of my colleagues here in the Senate and on the other side of the Capitol recognize that,” Hyde-Smith said in a floor speech. “It is time for Congress to deliver meaningful assistance to our agricultural producers. They have been devastated by unprecedented market conditions and natural disasters over the last two years, and they need help recovering from both – not one or the other.”

Mississippi producers expect losses ranging from $65 to more than $300 per acre for every covered commodity for the 2024 crop year, while market losses by producers nationally are estimated to be $31 billion this crop year, Hyde-Smith said.

–The Hagstrom Report