National Farmers Union Calls on Senate to Pass a Farm Bill

The National Farmers Union has sent a letter to the Senate, urging greater action on the farm safety net, calling for additional reforms through the farm bill. Farmers Union Government Relations Director Aaron Shier.

“Th Senate Agriculture Committee is currently working on its version of the farm bill, it could release text relatively soon, and there is an expectation that they'll mark up the bill at some point this summer, and this follows on the heels of house action on the farm bill this spring with passage of a farm bill through the full house in late April, but of course you got to find a pathway through this. The Senate too, and the Senate's looking at potentially doing things a little bit differently.”

The letter outlines significant headwinds faced in a farm economy, including high input costs, low commodity prices, market volatility, trade uncertainty, and a rise in farm exits and bankruptcies.

“We outlined these concerns in this letter, and with the focus on farm policy through the farm bill, and with all of the challenges in the farm economy, we think now is really an important time to take action for Congress to take action to strengthen the farm safety net for farmers, which is really what we're, we're outlining and calling for in this letter.”

Once again, that was Aaron Shier, National Farmers Union government relations director.