We need a Farm Bill signed into law before 2025

Over the last few years, the agriculture economy has taken a turn for the worse. Commodity prices have fallen below producers’ break-even points, our agricultural trade deficit has eclipsed $43 billion, farm debt stands at a record $540 billion, and inflation combined with high interest rates continue to squeeze profit margins. A recent report from Purdue University also found that three in every four farmers expect conditions in the farm economy to deteriorate in 2025. This economic reality for our agricultural community underscores the need to get the Farm Bill signed into law before we ring in the new year.

Back in May, Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee passed the Farm Bill to deliver certainty and relief for our farmers and producers. Listening to the priorities, concerns, and suggestions of our family farms and agricultural businesses, we strengthened crop insurance, increased reference prices for commodities like corn and soybeans, and fully funded the Agriculture in the Classroom program that supports agriculture education initiatives for five million students and 60,000 teachers nationwide. 

We also doubled funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) and included provisions to construct needed infrastructure to build demand for our commodities and ship our perishable goods worldwide. Additionally, we took action to defend our farmland from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and other foreign adversaries by enhancing oversight of foreign land ownership in the United States. We included new oversight measures to monitor foreign purchases of American farmland, require the Secretary of Agriculture to report the threats of foreign acquisition of American farmland to Congress, and punish foreign investors who fail to disclose farmland purchases. 

While this is not an exhaustive list of the victories we secured for American agriculture, it offers a good idea of the work we did to support our farmers and producers amid high inflation and economic uncertainty. It is well past time for Senate Democrats to come to the table and work with Republicans to stand with the men and women who feed and fuel our country and the world. By January 1, 2025, our farmers deserve a reauthorized and improved five-year Farm Bill.

This op-ed was originally published in the Western Caucus Blogon October 15, 2024.