IL Corn Joins Over 300 Ag Groups in Washington to Advocate for New Farm Bill

Sep 13, 2024

By Haley Bickelhaupt

With Congress back in session, farmers and association leaders advocated for a farm bill, this week, in Washington D.C.

On Monday, over 300 agricultural groups sent a letter to House and Senate leadership requesting new legislation by the end of the year. The current farm bill expires September 30, 2024, and an extension is being negotiated. However, approaching elections have created road blocks, heightening political dynamics and increasing partisan divides.

To raise awareness for a farm bill, IL Corn participated in the National Corn Growers Association September fly-in and met with members of the House Agriculture Committee. The groups highlighted the importance of the bill considering economic struggles farmers are facing in the Midwest.

“It is critical that Congress pass a new farm bill that strengthens the safety net as many producers are facing multiple years of not being profitable and this is causing their overall financial situation to deteriorate,” the letter said.

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Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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