Agriculture groups sound an alarm about the economic crisis in rural America in a letter sent today to Congress. 56 organizations representing a cross-section of agriculture signed the letter, sending a strong message to Congress.
The letter describes an existential threat looming over many farms, stating, “America’s farmers, ranchers, and growers are facing extreme economic pressures that threaten the long-term viability of the U.S. agriculture sector. An alarming number of farmers are financially underwater, farm bankruptcies continue to climb, and many farmers may have difficulty securing financing to grow their next crop.”
Farm losses are the result of a multitude of challenges over several years of downturns that have led to devastating farm losses. The letter goes on to say, “For the last three to four years the reality of record-high input costs and rapidly declining and historically low crop and specialty crop prices have culminated in many U.S. farmers experiencing negative margins and losses approaching one hundred billion dollars nationwide… These trends aren’t just statistics; they represent an economic crisis in rural America.”
The letter, organized by the American Farm Bureau Federation, acknowledges—and expresses appreciation for—the significant investments over the past year in farm programs, a bridge assistance program, and other aid to support farmers. It also notes that losses for commodity crops and specialty crops remain deep and the gap needs to be closed, saying, “In addition to continuing to pursue federal policies to increase long-term domestic demand for U.S agricultural commodities, we urge Congress to provide immediate economic support to fill in the gap of remaining losses for both field and specialty crop farmers.”
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