Time is running out for Congress to pass a modernized farm bill this year. Families—on and off the farm—cannot afford a delay. As members of Congress return home for the August recess, we all need to share with them how important this legislation is for our country. Americans in every region, every state, every small town and every big city are counting on our farmers and ranchers to keep our nation’s food supply secure—and we’re counting on Congress to deliver a farm bill so that we can do just that.
In May of this year, Chairman G.T. Thompson and members of the House Agriculture Committee successfully marked up a bipartisan farm bill that modernizes risk management tools for farmers. Unfortunately, the Senate has been incapable of building on this progress. The American Farm Bureau recently rallied more than 500 groups representing a wide range of agricultural interests and beyond. Together, we sent a unified message to House and Senate leadership with a letter calling on Congress to pass a farm bill this year. Many of the groups that signed this letter have differing farm bill priorities, but we came together and spoke with one voice to demonstrate the urgency and importance of passing a new farm bill.
As I have said many times now, the farm bill is more accurately a food and farm bill, and it impacts all Americans. A new, modernized farm bill was urgent when we began calling for it early last year, and that urgency has only intensified as costs continue to rise for everyone. Inflation and food affordability are top of mind for most voters right now, according to our latest research. More than 80% of adults, across urban, suburban and rural areas, are concerned about these rising costs.
As we know across farm country, higher food costs don’t mean a higher return on the farm. Most farmers continue to face slim margins at best. While costs are up, farm bill programs and risk management tools have not kept up to ensure farmers can weather the storms, which threaten to drive them out of business. In the last five years, 141,000 family farms have gone under due to economic pressures, changing circumstances and regulatory burdens. The time is now, not next year, to renew and improve risk management programs.
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