USDA Net Farm Income Report Underscores Need for New Farm Bill
Zippy Duvall
President
Chad Smith
Associate News Service Editor, NAFB
photo credit: AFBF Photo, Sydney Garrett
Zippy Duvall
President
Chad Smith
Associate News Service Editor, NAFB
USDA’s latest Net Farm Income Report painted a concerning picture for the farm economy. Chad Smith has more on the numbers.
Smith: The latest Net Farm Income Report shows a 23 percent drop in net farm income compared to 2022. Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, says farms losing a quarter of their income isn’t economically sustainable.
Duvall: I’d like to ask, how many people, how many households, could withstand losing a quarter of their income in two years? It isn't just an economic hiccup for our farms, it's evidence of an agricultural downturn. I’ve heard from all our farmers and ranchers across the country that they are struggling. The latest census showed that we lost more than 140,000 farms in the last five years.
Smith: Duvall says there are a number of factors contributing to the downturn.
Duvall: Farmers and ranchers are facing inflation just like every other American family, but we've also got a great deal of severe weather around, plummeting crop prices, and constant changes in regulatory requirements. Our labor, interest expense, and property taxes are at a record level. On top of all that, our farm safety net that was designed to help our farms manage risk is so outdated that in many cases, it won't even trigger to help family farms face the drop in income.
Smith: The Net Farm Income Report emphasizes that America’s farmers and ranchers need a new farm bill.
Duvall: Congress has been kicking the can down the road when it comes to farm bill, but our farmers need help, and they need it now. It's been more than 100 days since the House Agriculture Committee passed out a good bipartisan farm bill and yet there hasn't been any additional action in either chamber. We need Congress to do their job, put politics aside as they have in the past, and get the work done. We need a new modernized Farm Bill.
Smith:Learn more at fb.org. Chad Smith, Washington.
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