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Agriculture groups say call for more farm support is warranted

Ag leaders say additional farm aid is needed to prevent the struggling ag economy from causing broader impacts across rural America.

National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO Ted McKinney tells Brownfield, “There is a ripple effect, and that’s why we’ve got to keep these farmers alive.”

“I also think that it’s particularly important because we continue to lose farmers,” he says.

McKinney says he’s optimistic Congress will approve more assistance this year to better support specialty crop producers and others.

Daren Coppock with the Agricultural Retailers Association says every type of row crop farmer is facing a difficult situation.

“The question isn’t whether I’m going to lose money or not on this crop, it’s how much I’m going to lose in most cases,” he shares. “It puts farmers in a terrible position, and any time farmers are in a terrible position, retailers are too.”

He says the current outlook through the end of the year is also worrisome.

“Even though the Strait of Hormuz is now supposedly open, it’s going to take months, maybe years, to work through the implications of that for phosphate, for urea, for fossil fuels,” he explains. “There’s a real question about being able to get what you need when you want it at a price you can afford for the fall fertilizer season.”

USDA has distributed more than $9.7 billion of the $11 billion in Farmer Bridge Assistance dedicated to 20 types of row crops, and nearly $190 million of the $1 billion set aside for specialty crops.