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For awhile now, it seems all eyes in agriculture have been focused on the new farm bill, and although American Farm Bureau Chief Economist Roger Cryan says the extension Congress passed in December was a relief, it still needs to happen soon.
Amy Beckham: Getting a Farm Bill Across the Finish Line. Hello there and welcome to Tennessee Home and Farm Radio, I’m Amy Beckham.
Roger Cryan: We’d love to see it done sooner rather than later, and there’s good folks on the hill who are making that effort. It is tied up in the budget issue. We can’t say when it’s going to happen, but it would be nice to happen this spring because it’s time. We need some modernization.
Amy Beckham: Well for awhile now, it seems all eyes on agriculture have been focused on the new farm bill. And although American Farm Bureau Chief Economist Roger Cryan says the extension Congress passed in December was a relief, it still needs to happen to soon.
Roger Cryan: It was a relief to get that extension, to know we had the certainty for another year that we had programs in place. But there’s a bunch of things that need to be updated. One of the things is reference prices, programs in the sort of traditional farmer support programs, those price levels that are supported for farmers are so out of date that they don’t really mean anything for most commodities. They don’t provide the protection that farmers really need.
Amy Beckham: Cryan goes on to discuss why farmers desperately need this critical legislation and some of the important parts of the farm bill to rural America.
Roger Cryan: Farming is a very risky business. Farmers have ups and downs that most of us can’t even imagine. And there’s good reasons – for feeding the world, for supporting the domestic economy, for supporting the vibrancy of rural economies. To keep farmers farming year to year, to provide the support through Title one programs, through crop insurance programs, through investment in agricultural research so that we stay out in front in terms of productivity, through investments and conservation to help them not have to face trade offs between getting through this year and keeping the land healthy.
Amy Beckham: But it goes beyond rural America too. The farm bill is nowhere near just for farmers, but for all who rely on them for food, fiber and fuel.
Roger Cryan: There’s just so many things that the farm bill does not just for farmers, but for the economy, for the folks who depend on agricultural production for their businesses, for processing, for retailing, for wholesaling. And for everybody who eats and wears clothes and has to heat their home and everything else. The farm bill isn’t just about taking care of farmers. It does so much for so many people. It’s always a shame when folks feel like oh, this is just some sort of welfare for farmers because it’s not – it’s about helping farmers help everybody else
Amy Beckham: For Tennessee Home and Farm Radio, I’m Amy Beckham.