Politicians ask USDA for more farmer support

Jul 05, 2019

Disaster Declarations are needed in Ohio and Illinois, representatives said

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Politicians from two U.S. Corn Belt states are asking the USDA to do more to support farmers during a difficult growing season.

Illinois Governor JB Pritkzer and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown have sent letters to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue requesting his agency to make Disaster Declarations.

Doing so would make federal resources available to farmers and agribusinesses affected by the wet spring.

Gov. Pritzker’s July 3 letter asked for a statewide declaration.

A meeting between the Farm Services Agency and State Emergency Board “recommended all 102 Illinois counties be declared an agricultural disaster,” he said in a statement. “A large winter snow melt followed by excessive rain during the normal planting season has caused rivers to rise to historic levels and soils to become saturated over the entire state.”

Sen. Brown’s letter called on the federal ag agency to act quickly.

Farmers need the federal resources to offset any losses incurred this year, he said.

“These planting delays and abandoned crops not only harm those for whom farming is in their livelihood, but the market effects of unplanted acres in Ohio and across the Midwest could have significant consequences for livestock, rural communities and consumers,” the July 2 letter says.

Asking the federal government to help is a necessary step given the challenging conditions, said Terry McClure, a cash crop producer from Grover Hill, Ohio.

“If this year isn’t a disaster, then I really don’t know what is,” he told Farms.com. “I’m certain this is the wettest spring we’ve ever had on our farm. I’m going to have 1,500 acres go unplanted Some farmers have just had their crops washed out and it’s too late to replant.

“This isn’t new to us and I’m sure some other farmers in the Midwest are in the same position.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.