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Farm equipment outlook uncertain as farm bill path unclear

A leader with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers says uncertainty in the farm economy creates uncertainty in the equipment industry. 

Kip Eideberg is senior vice president of government and industry affairs.  “The farm bill is not just various programs meant to help farmers and ranchers,” he says.  “But it’s an investment in rural America.  In our industry, we support 2.3 million jobs across the country.  Two-thirds of those 2.3 million men and women live in rural America.”

He tells Brownfield that having the certainty of a year-long farm bill extension goes a long way.  “For us, it’s do or die with the farm bill,” he says.  “It’s not just hyperbole, it’s not an overstatement.  We just have to get this done.  Republicans and Democrats have to figure out a way to bridge their difference and come up with a bipartisan approach to this.”                                               

Eideberg says a group of 60 House Republicans recently sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson.  “You’re starting to see some pressure from House Republicans to stop playing politics and get a one-year clean extension passed,” he says.  “Because that’s the only thing the Senate will tolerate.”

The 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2023. 

AUDIO: Kip Eideberg, Association of Equipment Manufacturers