It’s a tough time for production agriculture in the U.S., especially in grain farming. Mississippi Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith said things are heading in the wrong direction.
Well, you don’t have to talk to many farmers to quickly understand that we’re headed in a dark direction there, particularly on the row crop side of things. We all know it’s the input costs, the interest rates are through the roof, the crop prices aren’t what they need to be, and farm bankruptcies are soaring. There are many reasons for that, but this is a serious, serious thing. You are going to see producers literally go out of business if we don’t give them a bridge, a landline, right now.”
The reason farmers need a bridge is that the One Big Beautiful Bill’s programs don’t start until next year.
“Farmers can’t wait that long. They will not be able to meet their financial obligations, their current debt, and also while they’re trying to secure financing for next year’s crop without a bridge, and we’re going to have to get there. Last year, I would say a part of working on that, and we were successful, but I mean, it is like it was work. It was Major. It was a challenge. And that’s one of the times that you hit the Senate floor, and you’re going to the leaders, and then you have to run over to the House side and say, ‘This is not the way this is going to end. We have got to get this supplemental out the door.’ And we were able to do that, but it was touch-and-go. I mean, it’s one of those times when, you know, I’m so guilty of diving in neck deep, but there was so much anxiety with that because so much was at stake.”
She calls the farm crisis a national security issue.
“This go around, I think it’s going to be a little easier to get it passed, because everybody is hearing from their producers. You know, everybody’s hearing throughout their states, and they understand that this is a national security problem.”