A Sugar Spotlight

With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.

Flying into our nation’s capital, it was sugar with the spotlight a short while back as sugar producers from across the country brought their priorities to legislators and legislative staff.

That included 5th generation sugar producer Lily Hultgren…

“All of agriculture is just facing the same economic pressures of high input costs. We're also seeing prices start to soften, which is of great concern to everybody, but it also presents an opportunity for policymakers. We just really want the ability to ensure the long-term sustainability of our operations. Like on our farm, we're constantly innovating and adapting to improve efficiency and reduce our environmental footprint, but we can't really ensure long term viability on our own. So, we do need federal policy to address the fact that there are foreign countries that are heavily subsidizing their sugar industries. But working together, I think farmers and policymakers can take steps to really ensure strong domestic industry that is able to provide a reliable and affordable supply of domestic sugar.”

Lilly emphasized that it’s crucial for sugar producers to have the strongest safety net possible including stable sugar policy as farm bill discussions continue.