In a letter to lawmakers, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson emphasized the need to address agricultural economic hardships in the 2018 farm bill. The NFU Board of Directors unanimously approved the motion to send the letter during a meeting held Monday afternoon.
With an already grim farm economy, an escalating global trade war, and uncertainty in export markets, has pushed prices even lower in the last month, worsening farmers’ financial stress.
While the Department of Agriculture announced a $12 billion aid package for farmers, NFU’s Johnson stressed the package was not enough, adding Congress should provide “substantive and long-term relief to farmers” as part of the 2018 farm bill. Johnson says congressional inaction “will have very tangible and harmful impacts as farmers and ranchers get closer to fall harvest.”
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.