Across rural America, farmers are sending a clear message to Congress: pass a five-year Farm Bill now, before it’s too late.
Congress hasn’t updated the Farm Bill since 2018 — instead, it’s patched together two year-long extensions with no long-term plan to update the farm safety net. These extensions do not address the current economic realities of farming and are leaving rural communities without the vital support they need to survive or the certainty they need to plan for the future.
Fourth-generation Minnesota farmer and sugarbeet grower Tim Deal stressed the urgency of passing a Farm Bill when he testified before Congress and in his recent letter to the Fargo Forum.
“As things stand, the Farm Bill safety net hasn’t been updated since 2018 and is woefully out of sync with today’s economic realities. If Congress does not pass a Farm Bill that provides a meaningful update to these policies, including U.S. sugar policy, many of us will struggle to continue financing our operations.
“The closure of sugar processing facilities — like the one in northeastern Montana two years ago or the last remaining sugar mill in Texas last year* — should be an urgent wake-up call that we cannot allow U.S. sugar policy to be weakened. When these facilities shut down, communities lose jobs, farmers lose a valuable part of their livelihoods, and America loses domestic food production.”
(*Most recently, we learned that the last remaining sugarbeet processing facility in California will be decommissioned at the end of this season.)
Fifth-generation Michigan farmer and sugarbeet grower Clint Hagen echoed the same sentiment in his recent letter to the Toledo Blade. In his letter to the editor, Hagen emphasized the difficulty all farmers are facing without an updated Farm Bill.
“At one time, Ohio was also home to sugarbeet farms and processing facilities. But as the economics of farming sugarbeets has become harder, the industry has contracted. The last Ohio sugarbeets were harvested 20 years ago. It’s not just sugarbeets; it’s harder and harder for farms to stay in business. American farmers are facing a growing crisis, and we cannot afford to lose any more of the farms and farm families who grow the food we eat ...
“The failure to pass a five-year Farm Bill has left us in a constant state of limbo. This affects more than just sugarbeet farmers; row crop and dairy producers in Ohio also need the long-term certainty of a five-year Farm Bill.”
The importance that U.S. sugar policy brings to family farmers across the country cannot be overstated. Fourth-generation North Dakota sugarbeet farmer Brent Baldwin emphasized how sugar policy supports rural communities at no cost to taxpayers in his letter to the Fargo Forum.
“U.S. sugar policy is of vital importance to our livelihoods and to the lifeblood of our communities. Fargo is surrounded by sugarbeet fields, and our farms and factories support our economy. Importantly, U.S. sugar policy bolsters the domestic supply chains that keep a steady supply of sugar flowing to grocery store shelves. All without costing the taxpayer anything.
“My son is already farming alongside my dad and me as the fifth generation. I want to be able to leave him a strong and sustainable farming operation. Our ability to do that depends on strong farm and trade policies. U.S. sugar policy isn’t some unnecessary government giveaway – it’s a critical part of keeping family farms in business.”
The message coming from America’s farmers is clear: we need a new Farm Bill now. America’s farmers simply cannot wait any longer.