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NFU strengthens calls for farm bill

The president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) says the state of the ag economy is reaching a critical point.

Rob Larew says farmers and ranchers need help.

“The safety net is just not adequate right now.”  He says, “There’s probably going to need to be some help there. Long-term, it means making sure that whatever safety net we have is going to keep farmers on the farm. We’ve got to have markets; we’ve got to have a price.”

He tells Brownfield the ag sector needs the certainty of a new farm bill and secure markets.

“There isn’t a farmer or rancher out there that I know of that wants to rely on the government, but the fact is, government actions right now have kind of eroded the safety net that we have out there, and the disruption in the trade markets has left us without being able to get the price,” he says.

Larew says over 250 family farmers are sharing their stories with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. this week as part of NFU’s annual Fall Legislative Fly-In, and the message is clear.

“Don’t come home until it’s done,” he says.

The current farm bill extension expires at the end of the month.

AUDIO: Rob Larew – NFU