| USRPA Visits DC to Urge Congress to Provide Producer Assistance This week, USRPA’s Chief Operating Officer, Mollie Buckler, visited Capitol Hill to urge Congress to act on the Farm Bill and provide economic assistance to rice producers before Congress adjourns for the year. Buckler visited with staff for the Missouri congressional delegation and the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. During these meetings, Mollie shared how the economic conditions facing rice farmers are driving the need for economic assistance. Although the need for economic assistance as part of a disaster bill is generally acknowledged, there are challenges to overcome if economic assistance is to be enacted before the end of the year. One of the major issues is of course budgetary. Estimates of the cost of disaster assistance plus economic assistance bill are as high as $45 billion. Another issue being discussed is how to deliver economic assistance. Assistance delivery methods being explored include the FARM Act (H.R. 10045), delivery through the crop insurance program, and alternative methods through existing farm programs (e.g. PLC / ARC). USRPA continues to advocate for economic assistance sufficient to provide real assistance to rice producers in a timely fashion. The assistance needs to be provided in amounts that farmers and their lenders can calculate with certainty and predictability and delivered swiftly without regulatory delays or cumbersome application processes. White House and Congress Make Progress on a Disaster Package On Monday, the White House sent Congress a request for $98.6 billion in emergency relief to help mitigate damages from the natural disasters that have occurred in 2024. This total was $23.5 billion for USDA, with $21 billion requested to assist crop producers impacted by natural disasters. On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing to discuss the President’s request. Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) joined the Committee to discuss how the recent natural disasters have harmed their states, noting the impacts on agriculture. Several members of the Committee took time to highlight the state of affairs in the farm country and how natural disasters are worsening the condition, including incoming Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR). The White House’s request can be found here and a recording of the hearing can be found here. Senator Boozman has also advocated within Congress to provide economic loss assistance for producers. Chairwoman Stabenow Introduces Farm Bill Proposal On Monday, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act (S. 5335), her proposal for the next farm bill. This bill would set the reference price for rice to $14.70 per hundredweight. The bill would also double funding for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program. Unfortunately, the bill would also make many current farm program participants ineligible for farm program benefits. Chairwoman Stabenow’s bill was not well received. For example, soon-to-be-Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee John Boozman (R-AR) said: “An 11th-hour partisan proposal released 415 days after the expiration of the current farm bill is insulting. America’s farmers deserve better.” In other words, Chairwoman Stabenow’s bill was dead on arrival. As Senator Boozman alluded, the 2018 farm bill expired on September 30, 2023, and was extended last fall until September 30, 2024. Congress has begun discussions to extend the now-expired farm bill for one year. This extension is expected to be enacted before the end of the calendar year. Hopes are that next year with the Congress under unified Republican control we may see a farmer-friendly farm bill make it across the finish line. |
USRPA's Mollie Buckler with Trevor White and Harlea Hoelscher, staff members of the House Committee on Agriculture
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