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Source: Congress.gov
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Transcript
The committee will come to order. Good morning, everyone. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first hearing of the 119th Congress for the House Committee on Agriculture, examining the economic crisis in farm country. And a crisis is exactly what hundreds of thousands of farm families are facing as we speak. Across the board commodity prices have fallen precipitously while input costs remain at or near record high levels. For some commodities returns have been in the red for several years. Producers are burning their hard earned equity and being forced to have incredibly tough conversations with their lenders to just figure out how to hold on for one more year. Unfortunately for some there won't be one more year. In fact, the Agriculture and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University, which tracks the financial performance of 92 representative farms all across the country, recently stated that in the 42 years of keeping records at the center, there has never been a time where there has been such a bleak outlook over the next five years for the representative farms. With every single major commodity deep in the red, Producers deciding what to plant this year aren't thinking about what rotation is likely to make money, but rather what crops will cause them to lose the least. Thankfully, at the end of last year, Congress was able to come together and enact $21 billion in aid to address weather-related losses in 2023 and 2024, and $10 billion to partially offset some of the economic losses experienced in 2024. Obtaining that aid was not easy, but myself and dozens of other members and senators were prepared to lay down on the tracks to block the continuing resolution if economic assistance wasn't included.
That is a threat I didn't make lightly, but because of extreme concerns from the lending community, the desperation of the agriculture sector, and the threat to the future of farm families across the country, I could not in good conscience allow Congress to ignore the needs of our producers. I want to thank Speaker Johnson and members across both sides of the aisle that helped make that happen. I urge the Senate to act quickly to confirm Brooke Rollins, who I think will be the best Secretary of Agriculture of our lifetimes, so that she can expedite getting that assistance out the door. Farmers and their lenders cannot wait. Downturns in agriculture are nothing new. It is and always has been a cyclical business. But it sure seems like the good times are shorter and not as profitable as they once were, and the bad times are lasting longer and are more severe. The needs of the industry have changed, and this underscores the critical importance of enacting a new Farm Bill with a significantly enhanced safety net. This won't by any means make producers whole, but a bolstered and properly functioning safety net will help them to weather the storm. I was proud of the work this committee did in the last Congress to advance the Farm Food and National Security Act of 2024 in a bipartisan way. Unfortunately, for numerous reasons outside of my control, we weren't able to get that bill across the finish line. And America's producers are the ones paying the price. We cannot let this year be a repeat of the last. I look forward to working with my new ranking member, Congresswoman Angie Craig, from the great state of Minnesota, to get the farm bill over the finish line this year. It oftentimes feels like here at the Agriculture Committee, our job is to enact policies like the safety net that treat the symptoms while other committees have jurisdiction over the disease. That is why I will be working around the clock with my fellow chairman to address the underlying causes of these record high input costs, such as burdensome regulations, uncertainty around taxes and harmful energy,
and environmental policies that are relics of the previous administration. We'll also be working with the Trump administration to expand markets and create demand for U.S. agriculture products. I know there's a lot of concern about tariffs and potential retaliation, but as we have seen in just The past two weeks with Colombia, Canada, and Mexico, access to the US consumer provides him powerful leverage to negotiate with foreign nation. He needs to use this leverage to advance the America First agenda. And I'll be keeping vigilant watch over these actions. And where US agriculture gets caught in a crossfire, I'll be the first to speak up on behalf of our producers. I want to thank our witnesses today. Each and every one of them have a unique perspective to offer members of this committee that will help us understand where agriculture is, where things are headed, and what this committee needs to consider as we work to enact a highly effective farm bill. I'd now like to welcome the distinguished ranking member, the gentlelady from Minnesota, Ms. Craig, for any opening remarks you would like to give. Thank you so much chairman Thompson and thank you for organizing this extremely timely hearing. on the economic crisis in farm country. Thank you to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for your commitment to helping our nation's farmers achieve our historic mission to feed, clothe, and fuel the world. And thank you to our witnesses here today to help us and, more importantly, the country better understand the crisis we are facing and, perhaps more importantly, how the decisions we make as leaders can support each of you. This committee, more than most, has historically worked on a bipartisan basis to help give farmers and ranchers the certainty they need. Mr. Chairman, I look forward to working with you toward the goal of a bipartisan farm bill that can get the support of the majority of Republicans and Democrats in the 119th Congress. I don't have to tell our witnesses that for most in farm country, folks have been struggling.
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