Farm bill arguments have come in all shapes and sizes the past year, but sometimes it鈥檚 the human one that hits a chord, as one seemed to do at a recent House Ag Committee hearing.
Farming is unlike any other profession. GreenPoint Retail Senior Vice President Joey Caldwell told House Ag lawmakers recently that it demands a huge sacrifice. Caldwell said, 鈥淲hen a farmer plants a crop, they put more than just their job at risk. Their farm is their home, their livelihood, and a pillar in their community. For many, it is also their family legacy, something passed down to them over the generations that they hope to pass down to their kids.鈥
Without the certainty a new farm bill provides, Caldwell told lawmakers on behalf of the Agricultural Retailers Association that the risk could become too great. Caldwell said, 鈥淓ventually putting farmers and rural communities where they live in dire straits. We鈥檙e facing rapidly declining commodity prices and inflation that have driven up the expenses of farm equipment and farm inputs. Farm incomes are off nearly 50 percent from the last two years.鈥
And lest anyone forget, as the House committee-passed farm bill languishes and none gels in the Senate, he says “the Ag economy and the 明星黑料 rural communities helped found this country, and we need help now.鈥
Story by Matt Kaye/Berns Bureau; courtesy of NAFB News Service
