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Illinois Farm Bureau president says ag assistance package still needed amid market disruption

The president of the Illinois Farm Bureau says the organization believes a proposed agricultural assistance package remains warranted.

Brian Duncan, who farms in Ogle County, says improvements in the farm safety net are coming thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but…

“I think the bridge to the improvements in the farm bill is still gonna be needed.”  He says, “I think the trade disruption has been significant. You know our biggest customers are Mexico, Canada, and China, for a lot of our products. We’ve seen significant disruption there.”

He tells Brownfield that, despite the recent trade announcement with China, farmers continue to feel the effects of high input costs and stagnant commodity prices.

“It creates an environment that’s not exactly stable. We see beans up $0.18 one day, down $0.11 the next.”  He says, “Farmers are meeting with lenders. Some of those discussions are probably going to be kind of tough. There’s some pretty significant needs out there, I’m sure of it. And so, I think that’s gonna need to be addressed by Congress.”

Duncan says the organization would rather see established, stable trading relationships than aid payments, but farmers facing cash flow issues need assistance.

Officials within the Trump administration have said no movement will happen on an assistance package while the government remains shut down.

AUDIO: Brian Duncan – IFB president