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NFU urges action as family farmers face mounting economic pressure

The president of the National Farmers Union says the organization’s members are increasingly alarmed about the worsening state of the ag economy.

“A lot of family farmers and ranchers out there are really under a lot of economic pressure.”

Rob Larew says the group is pleased the Trump administration has pledged to investigate potential anti-trust violations in the ag sector; however, he says current trade policies are also to blame for increasing input costs.

“Fertilizer prices, for example, are hugely impacted by the tariffs right now.”  He says, “What further ways can the administration provide exemptions to make sure that that isn’t ultimately directly impacting family farmers?”

He tells Brownfield that the proposed $10 billion economic assistance package would provide some relief, but NFU would like to see it taken a step further.

“Some direct assistance, sure, but also whether it’s some regulatory relief, whether it’s things like approving E15 year-round, I think that there’s a package of tools out there that they could provide to kind of bridge us through the remainder of the year,” he says.

Larew says that all options should be explored to increase market access for farmers, both globally and domestically.

“We would much rather get assistance out of the marketplace that’s working, but this market is so kind of chaotic and turned upside down that we need to continue to work to grow demand and build back a marketplace so that we can ultimately get that price that can allow us to continue to farm,” he says.

NFU sent a letter this week to the administration and Congressional leaders urging immediate action to provide economic relief for family farmers and ranchers facing worsening financial conditions, emphasizing that aid should reach family farm operations that need it most.

AUDIO: Rob Larew – NFU