Passage of a new Farm Bill in 2024 that strengthens the farm safety net is critical for farm families, particularly as they face challenging economic and agronomic conditions.
That was the key message delivered by Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) President Dana Allen-Tully to the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday during a hearing on financial conditions in farm country. Read her written testimony here, or watch her verbal testimony here.
President Allen-Tully, who operates a crop and dairy farm in Eyota, said natural disasters, high production costs, plummeting crop prices, doubling interest rates, and tightening credit are hampering farmers this year.
Improving crop insurance and the Farm Bill’s commodity title would go a long way to helping farm families, she said, praising provisions of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 passed by the House Ag Committee in May. In particular, she noted the proposed increase of the corn reference price under the Price Loss Coverage and Agricultural Risk Coverage programs and the doubling of funding for the Market Access and Foreign Market Development programs.
“The Commodity Title and crop insurance provisions in the House Farm Bill are excellent and would go a long way in helping all farm families, regions, and commodities,” she said.
In addition to offering prepared remarks, President Allen-Tully answered questions from committee members, providing an opportunity to dive a little deeper into the financial challenges facing corn farmers. President Allen-Tully also reiterated the value farms bring not only to the family farmers who operate them, but also to the larger rural communities across the country. She told committee members that passage of a Farm Bill with a strengthened safety net could bring certainty to farmers across the county who are faced with significant economic challenges this year.
In addition to advocating for a Farm Bill, Allen-Tully also highlighted other topics of interest to farm families, including the U.S. trade deficit and the need to promote lower-cost, environmentally friendly biofuels.
She noted how American farm and ranch families are the part of the solution to solving global hunger issues, which could only become more severe in coming years as the world’s population increases.
“We need good policies to help us,” she said. “We need Washington to make the right decision to help producers defeat hunger—both at home and abroad.”