There may be more help ahead for farmers continuing to face significant economic challenges. House Ag Committee Chair GT Thompson (R-PA) said he’s pushing for more assistance to keep farmers afloat.
“Well, that’s something I’ve been talking about ever since the first tranche of farmer aid was announced by the USDA. I appreciate Secretary Rollins and her leadership team and what they’ve done in rolling that money out. And even right before that went out, I was engaged with her in conversation, made it quite clear I felt that we need additional money, especially for specialty crops, and so I think that, I think there’s momentum that’s happening with that. It will not be a part of the farm bill. It doesn’t really fit within the farm bill, but it is a separate effort. I’m certainly leaning in on.”
With everything going on in geopolitics that’s impacting agriculture, Thompson said any specific amount of financial assistance will be a moving target.
“Some of the numbers I’ve heard on the Senate side, and I’ve been working with Senator Bozeman and Senator Hoven, on this issue, and they’ve talked about doing, I believe, $15 billion, and ten of that, I’m assuming, would be for row crops. I’d like to see it, not $15 (billion), but probably $20 to $20-plus, because I think our specialty crop growers are in a very difficult situation as well. And there are so many different specialty crops, well over 1,000 of them.”
Thompson is optimistic that the Farm Bill will come up for a vote in the House before the end of this month.
“I think with everything our farmers are facing, this just needs to be a bridge, and a bridge to all the great policies that we put in place, the great investments, as a part of HR One, and the updated policies that we have put into the Farm, Food, and National Security Act that’ll be considered on the House floor, I anticipate with confidence, before May 1st.”