By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

Farmers and ranchers took advantage of the August recess to meet with Congressional leaders to discuss the need for a new farm bill and other issues facing agriculture.

“As a farmer, one of the reasons we took time out of farming today is to make sure our congressmen are aware how important agriculture is,” Rodney Schronk, a row crop farmer from Hill County, said.

In 2023, the agricultural sector represented nearly 20% of the country’s economic activity and provided 48.6 million jobs in the U.S. But farm financial security is declining.

Schronk and other county Farm Bureau leaders and members stressed the current farming realities of rising input costs and falling commodity prices in a meeting with U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey.

“Our input costs are astronomical. I truly believe that if we do not get a farm bill passed soon, our ag industry is headed for another major crisis in the United States,” Schronk said. “It doesn’t matter how much money you have, your fixed to blow through it in the matter of a couple of years with the losses we’re going to endure.”

Farmers need the tools to succeed, including support from public policy and strong markets. But current farm policy is outdated. Farmers are operating under the 2018 Farm Bill, which was granted a one-year extension last fall. The legislation doesn’t take into account volatile markets, the coronavirus pandemic, weather disasters and the war in Ukraine.

Congress has yet to reach an agreement, and the one-year extension expires Sept. 30.

Schronk appreciated the time to visit with Ellzey about the food and farm legislation.

“It’s very refreshing having the opportunity to meet with our congressman who is willing to sit down and talk with farmers and ranchers,” Schronk said. “You never know when the opportunities are going to happen where you can make a difference. Your congressman is trying to figure out what is best in their mind, and we can have an influence on that. But you can’t have influence if you don’t show up in these meetings.”

Ellzey emphasized the significance of the farm bill in ensuring national security.

“When we talk about national security, you can’t talk about that without talking about food security,” Ellzey said. “It’s important that we get a farm bill passed. These are businesses, not just farms. Farmers and ranchers provide food for the entire world and other ag products that are important to our everyday lives.”

He also highlighted the challenges faced by farmers and ranchers, including losing agricultural land.

“You have families who’ve had generations of farming, and they’re fewer, fewer and fewer. It’s important that we have policies that are going to help our farmers that are under threat from solar farms, from wind farms and the high-speed rail,” Ellzey said.

The congressman stressed the urgency of passing the farm bill, pointing out the importance of crop insurance and disaster relief.

“We need to get the farm bill passed. Crop insurance is becoming ever more increasingly important,” Ellzey said. “The cost of doing and producing all of these things requires loans, requires income and requires the ability to pay back loans. And crop insurance is an extremely important aspect of that, as is disaster relief.”

Ellzey encouraged farmers and ranchers to contact their legislators and advocate for the farm bill’s passage, underscoring the importance of these meetings as opportunities to help shape agricultural policy.