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A boost in reference prices will be costly

The National Association of Wheat Growers has prioritized an increase in reference prices for the Price Loss Coverage program, but CEO Chandler Goule says the farm bill needs a bigger baseline to make that happen.

“We had Bart Fischer with Texas A&M University come to visit with us and he used to work on the House Agriculture Committee,” says Goule. “He rolled out big numbers, saying if we want a 10% or 20% raise in the PLC price, we’re talking double-digits, just for wheat.”

Goule says government spending is already a point of contention in the House.

“There’s the far left that doesn’t want to increase the funding if it’s not going to SNAP and then, you’ve got the far right that’s not going to want to increase that spending because they’re worried about the overall increase in government spending.”

If Congress can find the money, Goule says it would be divided among all ag groups.

“The more you have to divide it, the less the distance the money can actually travel.”

The National Association of Wheat Growers met during the Commodity Classic in Orlando, but NAWG will continue their discussions on the specifics of this request in additional meetings.