Growing up on a cattle ranch in Yell County, Arkansas, along with many other generational farmers, I learned early on how price fluctuations and economic uncertainty could impact a family business.
Unfortunately, thanks to former President Joe Biden’s disastrous economic policies, farmers across America are facing rising input costs, low commodity prices, and high financing costs. There’s no doubt that it’s been a tough time for America’s farmers and ranchers. That’s why I’m working to get them the help they need.
Earlier this year, I was proud to support major farm bill reform led by my fellow Arkansan and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman, Republican Senator John Boozman; this legislation was part of our tax cut for working families. Unlike previous farm bills, which didn’t include nearly enough “farm,” the tax cut for working families included provisions to directly help farmers and free up additional funding by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.
However, these measures will not come into effect until 2026. In addition, many farmers have already booked this year’s harvest, meaning they will not benefit from any recent increases in commodity prices.
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The bottom line: America’s farmers need help – now.
For example, in my home state of Arkansas, our farmers will lose hundreds of dollars per acre on their soybean, corn, cotton and long grain rice crops this year alone. The situation has become so bad that cash crop income in Arkansas is expected to decline by $617 million by 2025.
Compounding these challenges for Arkansas farmers is that the contrast between the high costs of inputs (such as seed, fertilizer and diesel) and the commodity prices farmers receive for their crops is at a 25-year high. In other words, input costs are too high and incomes too low for many farmers to make a profit, or at least keep their businesses afloat. Unfortunately, costs have caught up with too many Arkansas farmers; Last year, of all Chapter 12 bankruptcies in the Southern Region (a classification specific to family farms and fishermen), one in four were filed in Arkansas.
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America’s farmers also play a critical role in our consumer economy, which is essential to the security of our homeland. After all, food security is national security. Our opponents would like nothing more than to see generations of farmers wiped out by economic hardship.
In recent months, soybean farmers have been unfairly targeted by communist China. This is especially difficult for Arkansans since soybeans are grown in 41 of Arkansas’ 75 counties on thousands of farms spread across approximately 3.3 million acres in our state. While I welcome the announcement that Communist China plans to buy 12 million tons of soybeans this year – and 25 million tons each year for the next three years – we should remember President Ronald Reagan’s old Cold War approach: trust, but verify.
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I spoke directly with President Donald Trump about the difficulties and hardships facing farmers and ranchers in Arkansas and across America. Without a doubt, Trump keeps them at the top of his mind and close to his heart. Now that the Schumer Shutdown has finally come to an end, we can get back to work providing relief to our farmers, bridging the gap between now and when the tax cut provisions for working families take effect next year.
Our farmers and ranchers must receive the necessary help and support to move on to the next season. But just as importantly, they must be able to continue growing, harvesting and operating for generations to come.
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