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NFU says farm bill needs stronger safety net for farmers

The president of the National Farmers Union says a stronger farm safety net is needed in the farm bill.

Rob Larew tells Brownfield that despite updates to farm programs in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, there are still huge gaps.

“If you look at the current commodity markets, you see some price lifting, with some ups and downs,” he says. “That little lift might prevent the Ag Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs from triggering in some cases. We have a system that doesn’t account for the cost of production.”

Larew says the safety net also does not adequately account for rising diesel and other input costs facing farmers.

NFU has been asking Congress to modernize core commodity programs, find ways to reduce reliance on ad-hoc programs, reduce unfair competition, and control production through a voluntary Inventory Management Soil Enhancement Tool.

Larew says NFU will continue seeking improvements as the current farm bill moves through Congress, but the safety-net debate could extend into the next Congress.

“Rolling into the new Congress, where are those gaps? As much as we need a farm bill finished, and we do want that wrapped up, if there are remaining gaps in things like the safety net, we want to make sure we don’t wait another five years for a farm bill conversation.”

Larew says the next step is getting the farm bill to the Senate floor, but it remains unclear when that will happen.