The American Farm Bureau Federation and more than 50 farm groups including from California say severe weather, high expenses and global uncertainty are hitting farmers from all sides.
As a result, farmers are being squeezed to the breaking point.
The agriculture groups laid out the challenges facing rural America in a letter to President Trump.
The letter recognizes progress made last year in enhancing farm risk management tools and securing much-needed tax relief for farmers, but says additional resources are needed during these turbulent times.
The letter in part says, “As the administration considers a defense supplemental package in the coming weeks, we urge you to include much-needed market relief for America’s farmers.”
That relief should build on recent efforts to deliver Farmer Bridge Assistance Program payments.
The groups also say relief should include meaningful support for all specialty crop, sugar and alfalfa growers, assistance for farmers and ranchers dealing with catastrophic weather events, and build longer-term demand stability for U.S. agriculture through year-round sales of E15 and tax incentives to increase use of domestic agricultural products, such as the Buying American Cotton Act and the Grown in America Act.
