Letter
Dear Mr. President,
Investments made last year in enhancing farm risk management tools and in securing much-needed tax relief put U.S. farmers, ranchers, and growers on a path toward improved market opportunities on their farms and in the communities they call home.
However, before farmers could begin to sow the seeds of this year’s crop, they were hit with extreme weather events, including a widespread January winter storm and cold wave that brought snow, ice and freezing temperatures across large portions of the nation, resulting in billions of dollars of losses, including major losses for fruit, vegetable, sugar and citrus crops in the Southeast, livestock operation disruptions, farm infrastructure damage and early field preparation delays. In addition, drought, high winds and historic wildfires continue across many portions of the Plains, destroying pastureland, fencing and other critical ranch infrastructure. In the West, a warm winter raises concerns for irrigation water and forage availability in the months ahead.
More recently, as planting season began in earnest across much of the U.S., the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent fuel and fertilizer prices skyrocketing – further straining a farm economy that already had its back against the wall due to record inflation, trade uncertainty, rapidly declining crop prices and catastrophic natural disasters. Maritime freight disruptions from the ongoing conflict in Iran pose significant consequences to food security here at home and around the world.
This combination of sustained market pressures, weather-related challenges and geopolitical uncertainty poses a serious threat to the upcoming growing season and the long-term viability of U.S. agriculture. Food security is national security, and America’s farmers call on you to support additional resources during this turbulent time to ensure a strong, reliable and affordable domestic food supply for communities across the country.
As the Administration considers what needs to be included in a defense supplemental package in the coming weeks, we urge you to include much-needed market relief for America’s farmers. This relief should build upon recent efforts by your Administration to deliver Farmer Bridge Assistance Program payments, and should include meaningful support for all specialty crop, sugar and alfalfa growers, as well as provide relief for farmers who sold at harvest time lows due to trade uncertainty, support 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. Additionally, Administration actions, such as finalizing strong Renewable Volume Obligations in the Renewable Fuel Standard and supporting value-added opportunities for farmers in the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit, will also help support longer-term demand stability for U.S. agriculture.
We appreciate your longstanding commitment to rural America. Now is the time to ensure that American agriculture can weather this period of extraordinary strain. Without timely assistance, continued losses risk accelerating farm closures, reducing domestic production capacity and weakening the ability of farmers and ranchers across this great nation to provide food, clothes and fuel for the American people.
Sincerely,
Almond Alliance
American Cotton Producers
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Grown Flowers
American Pistachio Growers
American Soybean Association
American Sugar Alliance
American Sugar Cane League
American Sugarbeet Growers Association
AmericanHort
California Avocado Commission
Cotton Warehouse Association of America
Cranberry Institute
Crop Insurance Professionals Association
Farm Credit Council
Florida Citrus Mutual
Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association
Florida Sugar Cane League
Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
International Fresh Produce Association
National Association of Landscape Professionals
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
National Association of Wheat Growers
National Barley Growers Association
National Christmas Tree Association
National Citrus Nursery Association
National Corn Growers Association
National Cotton Council
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
National Farmers Union
National Onion Association
National Pecan Federation
National Potato Council
National Sorghum Producers
National Sunflower Association
National Watermelon Association
North American Blueberry Council
Northarvest Bean Growers Association
Northwest Horticultural Council
Society of American Florists
Southwest Council of Agribusiness
Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance
Texas Citrus Mutual
U.S. Apple Association
U.S. Beet Sugar Association
U.S. Canola Association
U.S. Peanut Federation
US Rice Producers Association
US Turfgrass Producers
USA Pulses
USA Rice
Washington Winegrowers Association
Western Growers Association
Western Peanut Growers Association
CC: The Honorable John Thune, Senate Majority Leader
The Honorable Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House
The Honorable Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader
