By Ryan Hanrahan
Progressive Farmer’s Jerry Hagstrom and Chris Clayton reported that “a bipartisan group of former leaders of America’s major agricultural commodity associations and biofuels organizations, farmer leaders, and former senior USDA officials sent congressional ag leaders a letter on Tuesday warning about the deteriorating state of the farm economy, stating there is a risk of ‘widespread collapse of American agriculture.’”
“The group charged that Trump administration policies ‘have caused tremendous harm to U.S. agriculture’ and are having long-term negative effects on the competitiveness of farmers and agriculture,” Hagstrom and Clayton reported. “‘Farmer bankruptcies have doubled, barely half of all farms will be profitable this year, and the U.S. is running a historic agriculture trade deficit,’ the letter stated.”
“The letter runs counter to the Trump administration’s narrative that agriculture is on the precipice of ‘golden age’ once some trade agreements start to kick in,” Hagstrom and Clayton reported. “The signatories include past presidents and CEOs of the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Pork Producers Council, National Barley Growers Association, National Milk Producers Federation, US Grains Council, and Renewable Fuels Association; past directors of the Illinois and Nebraska Departments of Agriculture; and other farm leaders and senior agricultural policy experts.”
Farm Progress’ Joshua Baethge reported that “in the letter, the former officials stated several factors, including increased input costs, trade disruptions, labor shortages, USDA cuts, and the deduction for foreign aid and domestic food programs have all contributed to the dire situation. According to the signers, administration policies have contributed to what the authors have deemed a ‘crisis.'”
Source : illinois.edu