House, Senate Ag Chairmen Considering Market Aid for Farmers

Agri-Pulse’s Lydia Johnson reported that “Congress has returned to Washington after the August recess. House Ag Committee Chair Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson told Agri-Pulse Newsmakers he still wants to take committee action on ‘farm bill 2.0’ in September and is eyeing including farm aid payments funded through tariff revenue.”

“I’m advocating that just a fraction of that (tariff) money would be used to invest in our farmers to keep them financially stable going forward,” Thompson said. “I think we need to be creative in how we do that. I appreciate the trade process — negotiations the president’s using and Jamieson Greer is leading — but I would say … a fraction of that would be a great investment actually in farm Bill 2.0.”

Thompson said that including aid for farmers in his ‘farm bill 2.0’ would be “a better way” than leaning on the Commodity Credit Corporation for assistance payments to farmers, something the first Trump administration did. And those payments and the farm bill 2.0 are something Thompson said he hopes to see moving soon and that the process of creating the framework for the bill is currently underway.

“We’re not under a real time crunch at this point. I know technically the farm bill portions that weren’t reauthorized on July 4th, technically, they expire on October 1st, but functionally, they’re all funded right through the end of the calendar year,” he said. “So, we have time, but I think for providing our farmers with the certainty that they need, and let’s just call it the hope that they require, the sooner that we can get (farm bill) 2.0 done and across the finish line, the better.”

Senate Ag Chair Also Considering Farm Aid

Brownfield’s Carah Hart reported that “the chairman of the U.S. Senate Ag Committee says there are options to help farmers as they navigate tough economic times. ‘As far as I’m concerned, everything is on the table. It’s something we have to deal with.’”

“John Boozman says this includes providing more resources for farmers,” Hart reported. “‘In the past, President Trump was very helpful with the Market Facilitation Program payments through the Commodity Credit Corporation.’ He says the CCC is expected to be replenished through appropriations in the new fiscal year.”

“Other solutions will take longer to implement, including an expansion of ag export markets and updated risk management tools going into effect for farmers next fall,” Hart reported. “Boozman says he’s been working with Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar on a Farm Bill 2.0, with a goal to have it completed by the end of the year.”

“‘The things we need to do are helpful, including making it where things like the loan limits are updated,'” Boozman said, according to Hart’s reporting.

More Farmers & Farm Groups Call for Aid

Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “hundreds of farmers in northeast Arkansas met (last week) with federal officials to talk about their current financial challenges and fears they could be forced to walk away from farming.”

“Arkansas farm groups have been sounding the alarm for weeks about the financial situation facing producers. The Agricultural Council of Arkansas has said one in three farms in the state could cease operations by next spring if there is not some type of supplemental aid to producers,” Clayton reported. “…The Agricultural Council of Arkansas wrote a letter Aug. 18 to President Trump raising the ‘great sense of urgency’ about economic conditions facing farmers and asking for ‘immediate assistance in delivering much-needed and meaningful support to help farmers with the pressures they face due to high input costs and depressed commodity prices.'”

“Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, along with Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas, issued a joint statement recognizing the challenges but also highlighting more than $80 billion in assistance for farmers that Congress has passed in the past year,” Clayton reported. “Boozman is chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, while Crawford is a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee.”