into a recruiter's office and said i have a pilots license and was a researcher at nyu. what can i do? >> all this week starting 9:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> c-span's online store, browse through our latest collection of c-span products, apparel, books, home decor, and accessories. there is something for every c-span fan, and every purchase helps support our nonprofit operations. shop now or anytime at c-spanshop.org. >> leaders from the national farmers union and the american farm bureau federation testified on the state of the agriculture economy before senate lawmakers. they addressed several topics, including the importance of passing a farm bill, the impact of tariffs, improved supply

chains, and labor challenges. the hearing runs just over three hours. [inaudible conversations] >> i'm delighted now to call the hearing to order. and i would hike to thank our witnesses for being here today. thank you for leaving your farms and families to travel to washington to share your experiences with us. as a proud arkansas kansan, i'm delighted to have nathan reid and jennifer james here on today's second panel. this hearing is the first in our series of the committee that we will be holding on the current tate of america's rural economy from the perspective of our farmers. ran. ers and rural leaders. these hearings are intended to help inform our decisions to draft a new farm bill and to ensure we are putting forward policies that will help current

and future generations of farm if families survive and ultimately thrive in a a very unpredictable world. every member of this committee has heard directly from farmers in their states about the current difficulties that they face. i've been blessed to join members of the committee to be part of some of these conversations, and and i look forward to continue the dialogue interest rates, el said production costs and depressed commodity prices coupled with a frayed safety net worn out over time have left many producers exposed to financial ruin. since 202022 -- 2022, producers have lost more than $50 billion in net income and net farm income is forecast to continue to decline. farmers are experiencing a scenario where there is no room for error. farm families are looking for

the next generation can and trying to determine if this career that requires more sacrifice than most careers is viable. i fear that across the country we are at risk of losing untold numbers of family farms. recently the agriculture and food policy center of texas a&m university stated that, quote, in 42 years that the food center has been projecting financial performance, the most recent crop outlook for the representative farms is the worst in terms of the number of farms in each of the four commodity the types,9 cotton, grains, rice and wall street that are not currently expected -- and if wheat that are not currently expected to have a positive cash flow over the next five years, end quote. my highest priority for the next farm bill is to improve the farm safety net whereby every farmer in every region will have access toed modernized risk management

tools regardless of the commodity that they grow. if we fail to modernize the safety net, agriculture will see further consolidation as a farm families leave the business and the ripple effects to our country will be truly from profoundment the it is a -- profound. the task before us is great. i look forward to hearing from if today's witnesses, and i now turn to to ranking member klobuchar for her opening comments. >> you have both been to minnesota's farm fest, so we thank you for that. i joined the treatment and appreciating the witness committee has done so far, and we have gotten to a good strong

bipartisan support. our nation's farmers to continue to produce the world's safest and most abundant supply. we know our farmers take on significant risks and operate on razor thin margins to feed america and the world, and it is our job to make sure that continues. i have heard consistently from minnesota farmers that they need certainty, and part of that certainty of course as we all know is getting a farm bill in place. there are changes we need to make from the last farm bill to make it even better, and our committee has an opportunity when we have high input costs, avian flu, we have an opportunity to pass a bipartisan farm bill and deliver that certainty. a strong farm bill of course requires a coalition of farm, food, research, nutrition, and conversation and things we care deeply about. farmers depend on all parts of the farm bill to research and

dealing with emerging threats. we are ready to work with our colleagues to get that done. i want to take a moment to talk about what happened this past week. i am very concerned about the administration's first moves on tariffs. while i support targeted tariffs like many on this committee, i have serious concerns about sweeping across the board tariffs that threaten our farmers's livelihoods. both the farm bureau and the national farm union have expressed concerns about the tariffs and how they could lead to financial hardships for u.s. farmers and ranchers and of course create higher prices for consumers. across the board tariffs open american farmers to retaliatory tariffs, and we have seen this before. as i said in my opening at our nomination hearing for brooke

rollins, what our farmers want is a fair trade and not aid. they want trade, not aid. this would be a major problem if we look at the results of this. the decision to impose 25% tariffs, which we know is now on pause for a short period of time. o canada and mexico, -- a short period of time, on canada and mexico as they are trying to play for an upcoming season. a tariff on canadian potash could increase for corn and soybeans. american farmers have worked for decades thanks to these two gentlemen and many behind them to improve their international market access. we have been able to find common ground in this committee on this issue such as the market promotion funding and the recent initiative launched by usda. we need to build on, not

rollback this progress. a strong farm safety net as pointed out by senator boozman includes title i programs and crop insurance, and they are the farmers most effective tools in managing uncertainty. right now, unfortunately with some of the confusion over this funding frees and the omb memo that was then rescinded in 24 hours but other statements from the white house, we have heard from farmers unable to access these critical resources. last congress to messenger through and i worked on crop insurance for future farmers act to give beginning and veteran farmers more affordable crop insurance protection. this effective tool is extreme weather patterns make the need for a strong safety net even more urgent and the effects of climate change. and a soda farmers have recorded nearly $1 billion in crop insurance and 70's due to

extreme weather, including droughts and floods. to address these challenges, congress added significant funding to usda's popular voluntary conservation programs. usda also launched a commodities initiative to provide new market opportunities for nation farmers. the future of these programs is uncertain and i think it is very important to see this. many of us may have different political lenses an ag standpoint. we have heard from farmers who have purchased tens of thousands of dollars in cover crops the only to receive notice that disbursements for these costs are paused. as many of our colleagues have expressed, we remain deeply troubled by the administration's pause on conservation support for farmers. and we would like to make sure that we reduce this chaos and

make it easier for our farmers to do their good work. i know from a personal friendship that chairman boseman and i and our committee hearing so far want that to continue in a very strong way. we are excited about the committee and the incredible members on this committee and we want to do right by our farmers and the people of this country that depend on them. i look forward to hearing from the testimony of the witnesses. thank you. >> thank you, senator. we will now introduce the first panel of witnesses. senator warnock. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it is my pleasure to introduce mr. zippy duvall, the president of the american farm bureau federation where he has served as president since 2016. mr. dufault is a third-generation farmer from

georgia where he and his son operate a beef cow herd. they raise broiler chickens and they grow their own hay, all while maintaining georgia farmland that has been in their family for more than 90 years. farming is in his bloodstream. mr. duvall has been a consistent and reliable leader, championing georges out of a culture community through its ups and downs and the often unpredictable business. zippy, as we call him, has seen it all including responding to natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, and inflationary pressures with a focus of making sure farmers and ranchers in georgia and across the country have the support that they need from all of us on this panel and elected officials across georgia in our country. prior to being elected, he was

president of the georgia farm bureau and served on the american farm bureau board of directors. thank you, zippy, for being with us today to speak on behalf of farmers from georgia and across the country. we know you do hard work with slim margins, and we are grateful. i often say that farmers are in answer to a prayer. give us our day, our daily bread. i look forward to hearing from you today as i am sure all of my colleagues are. >> senator justice. >> thank you so much. it's quite an honor for me to introduce rob larew. i have to tell you this and this is so simple, but years ago,

this a gentleman and everything was buying wet corn from us. and he has a great farm in greenville, west virginia. get this now. that farm has been in their family -- is that correct -- since 1798. it is amazing, absolutely amazing. so, this man graduated from virginia tech. he has served the last five years as the president of the national farmers union which represents 230,000 family farmers and ranchers across rule america -- rural america. he's a man of many talents. rob, we had a past acquaintance and now a new acquaintance, but i thank you so much for all

you've done. i cherish all the great steps your family has done. get this, this is all within a rock's throw of the farm where we started. we started our farming operation in 1977. and grew it to a point where we were absolutely, i think, the largest grain farmers east of the mississippi river. we started with almost nothing and grew and grew. with all that being said, this man was a part of my life and i am privileged to say i was a part of his life as well. . he's thank you so much for being here. i promise you i will really pay attention. thank you so much. >> that's a good promise. >> something for all of us to remember. >> we will go a little out of

sequence. the senator will introduce mr. hartman. there is so much going on right now. senator durbin. >> thank you for accommodating me. i just want to tell you my friend kenny hartman used to be president of the -- he's now the president of the national corn growers association. thank you for being here today. >> very good. mr. duvall, you are recognized. >> thank you, senator. chairman boozman, ranking member klobuchar, thank you for that introduction. i'm focused on jesus today. i also want to thank rob. we have become good friends over the years and have worked together constantly making sure farmers voices are being heard.

i'm zippy duvall, president of the american farm bureau, and my son and i still do farm in georgia. i spent 30 years dairying. i never thought i would find a job more difficult but i might have found it. farm families across the country are grateful for you recognizing the incredible hard times across the agricultural economy. emergency aid for communities for disaster that was destroyed by natural disasters and you incorporated that in your c.r. in december. despite the assistance, the farmers are looking to you to pass a modernized five year farm bill as soon as possible. our farmers face challenges related to the region, the weather, trade barriers, crop protection. and all of these will be addressed in by written testimony. as congress works on the 2025 farm bill, farm bureau supports

the following principles to guide and develop the program. the first one is to increase the baseline funding commitments in the farm programs. maintain a unified farm bill that includes nutrition programs and farm programs together because they belong together. prioritize funding for risk management tools which include crop insurance and commodity programs. the usda's most recent farm sector income forecast has shown a $41 billion decrease in net farm income, down 25% from 2022. since crop prices peaked in 2022, they have taken a nosedive. corn and wheat are down 37%, soybeans down 20%, cotton down 22%. despite these lower prices, 2024 payments out of the farm bill going to farms are projected to be the lowest since 1982.

over four decades ago. this highlights the need for increased coverage in title i programs. we also can't imagine during a time of great economic uncertainty that farmers and ranchers and many small businesses across the country are anticipating what might be the largest tax increase in america's history. failing to extend the expiring provisions of the tax cuts and jobs act would take billions of dollars out of the farmers pockets that have -- where they have no spare money anyway. congress must find a way to create a stable business environment by making the expiring provisions permanent. expiring provisions permanent. e also believe it's important that the -- i also believe it's important that the committee recognize that the great domestic policy threat to american agriculture is our outdated guest worker program and the labor crisis farmers are

facing across the country. in short, the cost is too high, the domestic willingness to work on our farms is way too low, and farm families are shutting down their farms. can and this is heartbreaking -- and this is heartbreaking and has direct and tangible impacts on our rural communities. why i know it's not under the jurisdiction of this committee, labor is by far the leading issue that i hear talked about and discussed and i get asked about by farmers and ranchers across the country regardless of region or commodity. finally, this week we've seen many actions around a trade with additional tariffs being imposed on our largest trading partners. i want to assure this committee that farm bureau will continue to be the voice of american agoture and its farmers -- agriculture can and its farmers to pursue and advocate for new markets and additional market access forking our agricultural progress products. thank you, senators. thank you for this opportunity to be here today, and i really

look forward to the questions. >> thank you, mr. duval. >> thank you. and thank you, senator justice, for the kind introduction. i'm sure i remember when we bought that corn, our milk production probably went straight up. chairman boozman, ranking member klobuchar, members of the committee, as a sixth generation on the farm in west virginia, i am really proud to be here representing family farmers and ranchers across the country. according to the census of to agriculture, we lost a staggering 140,000 farms in the last phi years. the average farmer -- five years. the average farmer is now nearly 60 years old. the uncertain future of the farm and rural economy adds to anxiety in farm country. at the same time, farmers and ranchers receive only 15 cents on average of every food dollar. consumers are paying higher

prices at the store while family farmers and ranchers dealing with tight margins, few market options and increased financial pressure. we must confront these challenges head on. we applaud the committee for quickly taking action this year to hear from us. the stakes are high not just for farmers and ranchers, but for all the communities that rely on us. passing a strong farm bill is a great place to start. with we appreciated the efforts of chairman boozman and many other can committee leaders at the end of last year to ensure the pass passage of disaster assistance. we cannot afford a third extension of the 2018 farm if bill. congress must act quickly to pass a fully funded farm bill in 2025. of this farm bill should include strengthening the farm safety net and providing farmers with robust risk management if tools, investing in involuntary

conservation programs, supporting the next generation of farmers and keeping the farm bill coalition together. a strong farm bill alone is not enough. we also need open and fair agricultural markets. farmers are the backbone of this country. but too often we're being taken advantage of. as a farmers, we love competition. but often our only option is to buy from or sell to monopolies. resulting in higher cost, fewer choices and less innovation. we're not asking for a guarantee, we're just asking for a fair shot. we have opportunities to make the system work for farmers by protecting if strengthening the -- [inaudible] about, supporting mandatory country of origin labeling like the american beef labeling act led by majority leader thune and ensuring that farmers have, finally, full and complete freedom to repair their own equipment. in addition to to fairness at

home, we must also consider fairness in global trade. american family farmers are often the first to suffer from trade disputes. tariffs can be powerful when used in a smart way, but we've also seen what happens when washington gets it wrong. farm income drops, markets disappear and costs go up. congress should focus on expanding domestic and global markets, holding said partners accountable and ensuring that trade policies are applied carefully to protect and not harm american farmers and ranchers. recent executive actions are creating concern for farmers and communities. no one knows what funding will be available or if programs will have the staff needed to operate. freezing spending and making sweeping decisions without congressional oversight just add as more uncertainty e to an already tough farm economy. we'd encourage this committee to seek charity from the if administration and make sure farmers in rural communities

aren't left behind. the in closing, the challenges are daunting but not insurmountable. a strong farm bill, fair markets and smart policies can assure that the next generation has opportunities in agriculture. farmers' union is ready to work with you to make that a reality and deliver resolutions that will give farmers a fair shot. the last but months we've been visiting with family farmers, and i look forward to sharing some of those stories as we answer questions. thank you. >> thank you. and, again, thank both of you for being here. let me ask you about two or three things. i'll give them to you all at once, and then you can kind of digest them and respond. mr. duvall, as you engage with farmers and ranchers across the country -- and both of you all

are so great, you're out and about -- what decisions are you seeing families make as they prepare for the third consecutive year without a modernized farm if safety net? that's one thing. and along with that, can you e will be late on what you see happening in farm if country if the committee does not properly prioritize risk funding for the risk management tools? and lastly, along with that can you describe the role you see crop insurance playing for farmers? what are you hearing regarding crop insurance improvements in if you can just touch on that for a few minutes. zippy? >> thank you, senator, for your question. decision making on the farm because not having a farm bill has been very difficult for our farmers because we know without a modernized farm bill, the '18

farm bill was a good farm bill. but we've experienced inflation, covid, the cost of production going up. so many things have happened, we're in a different environment today, and y'all mentioned that in your opening statements. we are hearing that maybe 20% or more of our farmers are going to have difficulties getting operating loans, and we're in a time where that should have already been done, and they should have the seed in the barn ready the start planning. and it's really hitting them at a hard, difficult time. they're telling us they're losing money per acre, corn over $100 an acre losing. they're having to make decisions which crops to plant, which crop not to plant. if i'm not going the plant, do i let that land go and miss the opportunity to have it in the future and someone else rent it in there's so many decisions they're having to to make, and you know, i get the question all the a time, senator, about what worry keeps me up at night, and what keeps me up at night is

who's going to farm in the future. 40% of the farmers out there today are over retirement age. most have off the farm jobs the support the habit of farming. and i don't know who's going to be farming in the future if we don't make make an environment inning agriculture that draws young people to it that can afford to raise a family and create a home in rural communities and support that economy there. that's why the farm bill's so important. now, are risk management, the crop insurance is the corner sovereign of the farm -- cornerstone the of the farm bill. it is where farmers have skin in the game and pay for the premium expect general public has skin in the game to make sure that our food system stays secure from one season to the next because of lower prices, natural disasters or whatever might be

happening. it is the cornerstone. the need in that area is we need every farmer regardless of whether he's organic, traditional a, big, small, large, every farmer that takes that that a risk needs some kind of risk management tool, and crop insurance has proven itself over and over again to be that tool to make sure that they can survive those difficulties. and i think i hit most -- all three -- >> no, very good. thank you. mr. larew. >> there are endless kind of examples of folks both who are well established farmers and those who are trying to make a go at it within the next few years. and challenges are really kind of make or break for a lot of them at this point. i think about a couple of cotton i growers who have been farming

for years. who, when trying to seek an operating loan right now after three years of drought and low prices are now facing really tough decisions. if -- and the bank doesn't know whether they're going to extend that loan. as they are having that tough conversation, it's also apparent that these community banks including the ones they were talking to are also a really struggling out there. and so as they tray to see whether or not they can get the loan going forward, the bank is also trying to make that the tough decision can we afford additional risk on top. i also think about a young farmer in north dakota who was recently sharing an experience about trying to the get more land, to remember more ground to expand operations.

and in doing that, a had to invest in some new equipment. and as a result of that, is now, unfortunately, overextended and is nowing having to to sell pennies on the dollar that pardon me if equipment and is seek ising -- farm equipment and is seeking to still pay off the loan, the financing for that and doesn't know whether or not farming is in his future. these are really just the kind of stories whether it's the more established folks who are eating through their equity and putting their operations at a risk or new and beginning farmers who don't have yet that that deep well of experience and equity that they can burn right now. so those needs for risk management tools including crop insurance are absolutely essential. i hope that as the committee considers what to include in the farm bill, that looking for ways to not to only strengthen the

existing options there, but look for additional ways to help support beginning farmers with that. and if also creative ways to bring more into those risk management tools. i think that would be a great place to start. >> thank you. senator klobuchar. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. and i will ask at another time, i appreciated you raising, mr. duvall, the ag with labor issues which i think while you are right, we may not have jurisdiction over immigration on this committee, we can be a voice when it comes to farm labor. and and thank you for your. comments, mr. larue, on consolidation. just over the weekend the president announced 25% if tariffsen canada and mexico. just talked about them. additionally, 10% tariffs on china. those went into effect yesterday. and even though the implementations of the tariffs on canada and mexico have been delayed for 30 days, it's created incredible uncertainty

in the farm farm country. both of your organizations put out statements on mid maizing -- raising alarms on the potential implications, and and i ask unanimous consent, mr. chairman, to put those letters on the record. >> without objection. >> to both of you, the canadian government announced a long slate of u.s. products that would be subject to retaliatory tariffs if these went into effect including baked goods, fresh foot and -- foot and vegetables, dairy products. canada has been a billion plus market for all these products. how will this retaliation and associated market impacts affect the farmers that you represent? okay. mr. larew. >> yeah. thanks for the question. i would start, first, with not only the potential implications of these tariffs in place, but the real kind of experience that we're hearing out there about

suppliers of fertilizer and if other goods who are already adding costs on to goods that -- we're hearing some places that are not selling for delivery products beyond a certain date because of the threat of the do -- is so i think, first of all, there's the very real hajjs right now. i was just in columbus, indiana, talking to a farmer who the whole final we were talking was on the phone trying to get product across the canadian border before any potential threat there. meanwhile when, costs were going up. so i think that the threat brings real impact and, certainly, we just have the last experience that we had with china to kind of look at the combination if of things from lost markets, increased costs adding to already kind of increased inflation and so forth. so the costs are across the board. >> okay. and just to add a little bit

here, mr. duvall, a recent study depending on the type of retaliation with the loss in value, this is from corn growers and soybean association, for just their crops range between $4.8 billion and 7.4 billion. and we would be losing market share to competitors in bra a civil and argentina. and that's just as a result of the tariffs in china alone. does -- could you just talk about the long-term damage you could do with trading partners that this even the uncertainty of this? their just going to -- they're just going to look for products in other countries. >> senator, you said it well, and that's been one of the concerns, the potential of shrinking the markets. because countries and companies can just decide to go buy it elsewhere where they have reliability to the market and don't have the excess. and we do see our competitors in

brazil continue to do the wrong things to expand their production down there to compete with us. it makes it very difficult on our farmers. the shrinkage of the market, we need more access, not less. we need more fair trade deals, not less. we need this administration because we haven't seen it for almost a decade now really getting fair trade deals to be put in place and stick with good rules and keep people working under it. the other issue is the cost of production. i think you said it yourself, over 80% of the potash comes out of canada that goes on our cropland, and that would be devastating to our farmers. just that one example is difficult for our farmers. >> okay, thank you. >> so we're very appreciative of the president and his negotiation skills, and he has proven if himself right in the past in the first administration and had some success, and we're looking forward to having more

success. but we're very appreciative of his negotiations going on now to be able to delay it for 30 days and see if we can bring some common sense solutions to these problems, because we need less interruptions in the supply system. it's our job to create a food system for our people in this country that they can afford and is reliable. we do not want to go back to the days that interrupt this food system like we saw during covid. and there's several things going on right now -- >> thanks. i just want to get one more, one more question here. will mr. larew -- we have heard from a lot of your members there's sift difficulty in accessing the conservation program. this is something that congress, you know, had -- you know, article i, we had actually set up these programs. what would be the implications of slowing down these programs for farmers and really is -- the same when it comes to nutrition when it comes to making sure as we go forward that those

programs remain strong? >> yeah. we're taking stories from all across the country of producers who are certainly dealing with a lot of uncertainty and a lot of expenses that are due to be reimbursed because they had a commitment, a contract for certain activities with usda. so they've made that investment. we've all talked about tight margins. i think it's worth just highlighting the fact that it's that all-farm if income that covers it. and so having at this typical, at this really critical phase right now of that economic pressure if having usda delayed with a lot of uncertainty about whether or not it will actually come through is adding to that economic pressure on the uncountryside. >> thank you. >> senator mcconnell. >> let's stay on the subject of

tariffs. most people don't think of bourbon as an agricultural product but, in fact, it is. to give you an idea with of how the canadians are already reacting to the potential of a said war -- trade war, there are stories about taking american bourbon off the shelves already. to send us a messagement -- message. my view is if threatening of imposing tariffs produces something and you don't actually do it, maybe there's an argument for them. but what i worry about -- and i mow all of us up here are concerned about it -- what happens to the $3 billion that we export from from kentucky every year? and i can't think of any part of the american economy that's more

dependent on international relationships and trade than agriculture. so new question is, and it's not unique, i think it's already been asked and maybe adequately addressed by you, if we actually get into a trade war. and, by the way, remember, everybody, that the current trade relationship between canada and mexico was negotiated by this administration before and bragged about. but, obviously, that that seems not to be enough. here we are on the cusp of getting into this. if we do, what happens to american agriculture? if -- >> so the president in his first term always said he'd love his

farmers and he'd stand behind them. he made that commitment to me verbally, and he did. our farmers want to have open markets. they don't want payments. of course, in the instance where with we are being harmed for the protection of our food system, for the protection of national security for our food system, we have to to look outside of open markets and do something to make sure our farmers can survive the trade war. but that's not exactly what we want. we want the markets themselves. but this president's delivered that the first if time, and we've had a seat at the table with him, and we look forward to continuing to communicate with him on those issues. but it could be devastating to agriculture if we're not paying attention to what happens. and not just agriculture. i'm here to represent agriculture, but we're here representing rural communities and the consumer of our products which is the american people. and it's going to affect the

availability of it, it's going the affect the cost of it, and it's going the affect the way we can do business at home on our farms. >> thank you, senator. just building on zippy's remarks because i certainly echo a lot of what he just said here, our reliability as a trading partner out there is certainly at a major risk in a situation. and i think we are still certainly in some commodities feeling the effects of the last trade war that we had. also, you know, even as our members at the grass roots policy-making process recognize that the use of tariffs strategically can, as you pointed out, achieve some results. but knowing that we stand on the front lines of some of that retaliation really puts a lot of things at risk. and would just restate the fact that we want competition. we want to receive our income

from the fair and open market, not just payments. >> isn't it true -- one more, mr. chairman, if i may. season it true that many historians looking at the 1930s thought the smoot-hawley trade war exacerbated the great depression? you guys are not familiar with that? [laughter] >> not going to speak -- >> not yo -- in your with lain, huh -- lane, huh? >> senator, i may be old, but i'm not that old. my grandfather told me it was very difficult. >> yeah, there were a lot of things that that contributed to the depression, but that was widely thought by historians of that particular period as contributing to the economic problems not only that we had, but others around the world had. thank you.

>> senator -- [inaudible] >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you to the witnesses for being here. i want to say to the leader before leaves, to leader mcconnell, the good news is that the product that he has from his commonwealth that he's worried about is of deep concern to states all over the united states of america. and is the lubrication of our democracy and our economy in many ways. i think that a lot of people feel his pain. and i, i also want to mention somebody that i know, jim ehrlich, who with's the san luis valley in colorado, we were celebrating yesterday his retirement as the head colorado's potato council where he has fought for years and years and years to open markets for potato growers in our state, in mexico and other places. you know of his successes, you

know of their successes. it's a reminder of why this trade discussion is not academic or theoretical or id logical for our farmers and ranchers. it's something they're working on every single day because it is the only place at least for the producers many colorado where at least in the medium term we're going to see -- and it grows which is expanding our export markets for our folks. and it's also not theoretical because we know, as a mr. larew said, that in the last round of these tariffs, in the last round of this trade war according to usda it cost agriculture $27 billion. and the agriculture doesn't want to be paid, as mr. duvall said, through these payments. that's not how they want to be paid. they want to be paid because they're producing and they're selling in markets around the world. and my curiosity for you is why

agriculture is the focus of our adversaries around the world in terms of their response to trade barriers like the ones that are being threatened by the united states right now? why is, why is american agriculture where they are likeliest to retaliate if that's how we approach it just as china did the last time, just as we're seeing canada and mexico do this time? and is it because they understand how tough our producers have it already, one, and, two, what it means for families -- and, zippy, you mentioned a little bit -- what it means for families who are at the grocery store right now already facing higher prices. could the two of you address that? >> well, in terms of why they are doing it, i think you raise a number of really important

pieces. probably to speak to the trading partners themselves on exactly the cause, but i think that the impacts that we know are likely to happen, the economic stress as you highlighted really across agriculture and the dependence that a lot of our not only value-added products, but also commodities out there are absolutely dependent not only on exporting, but also on being able to receive inputs from a variety of places. so having that kind of combination of increased -- for farming and also lower prices for our products is a double whammy. >> senator, historically we've always been the first one here, and i think -- and this is just my if opinion, you asked my opinion, it's the most essential thing in life. we think this is important. it's the first thing we pick

up -- >> actually, i'd like to throw mine and yours in the potomac river: but go ahead: that's another -- >> but we think it's the most essential thing, but we can't even accept what comes out if we don't have the nourishment to run our bodies. and i think if you look across this country, in most states agriculture is the leading industry in that state, and it supports the economy of this country can and every community -- >> that's well said. that's true in colorado, and i think as the chairman said and as the ranking member said, our farmers are feeling stress for all kinds of reasons already, you know? not the least of which is we haven't gotten a farm bill passed. but to add this on top of everything else is the last thing we need. with the last 20 seconds, i also wanted to respond, mr. duvall, to what you said about farm labor. i want to just underscore, you said it's the number one issue facing the people that you're representing x. this is something we've worked on a long time here.

you and i have had lot of conversations about it over the years, and i have been very clear that i believe we need to secure the southern border of the united states. and i've been disappointed. and the previous administration's work on that. but it doesn't mean that a that's sufficient. we need to figure out how to create a system so that we support our farm workers and we support our producers and we don't lose these farmers and ranchers to mexico which is what's going happen if we don't figure it out. thank you for raising it, and i look forward to working with you and others, the farm workers, to address it. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. senator hogan. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like to thank both of you for your work if helping us at your end, particularly with the disaster assistance. you both were very important to that effort, and i want to publicly acknowledge you. and it's very important we got it done. based on both of your opening remarks, i don't know how

anybody could not be aware that to get the new farm bill done, we need affordable crop insurance and updated reference prices in ark and plc. would both of you agree with that? >> yes. >> yes. >> updated prices in ark and plc, would both of you adamantly agree with that? >> yes. >> yes. >> thank you. [laughter] regarding tariffs, in the first round president trump used tariffs to try to negotiate better trade deals. for not just farmers and ranchers, but manufacturers too. and the chinese did retaliate, and we put in place through our ag-approps committee the program that ultimately president trump was able to negotiate a $50 billion deal for agriculture. and i think, mr. duvall, you referenced how prices were good up until 2022, and they've declined precipitously since then.

so in regard to tariffs, how -- what kind of strategy would you advise the administration if undertaking? if what advice would you give brook rollins and our trade ambassador and the administration, president trump, many term of how best to undertake that negotiation from an ag perspective? and we want fair markets. free markets, but we want fair markets. and we don't have fair markets. other countries take advantage of us, and we need to deal with it. the president tends to do that. >> that's exactly what we support, access and fair markets. you know, we have the perfect example of what happened during covid. we have a supply system that supplies food to this country from our farms to our forks. and any interruption, any interruption in that system is going to cause tremendous problems at all levels, all links of that chain. any interruption. and so we just can't afford to do that. is so during covid we said that

the workers in the food system was essential. what's essential mean? we've got to have it. so you've got to find some way to exempt it out of so we don't interrupt it. i grow chickens for will -- for a living. when they deliver that chicken, they already know what day it's going to be harvested and where it's going to go. if you interrupt that system, it hurts everything between me and the fork. we cannot afford it. our people won't stand for it in this country, and agriculture needs to be identified as an essential -- not agriculture, but the food system which includes agriculture needs to be identified as an essential part of our everyday lives for every american across this country. >> mr. larew? >> thank you for the question, because i think it's really important right now. certainly, the message that we shared the last time we had the tariffs in place and that we

would share again is everyone knows that china is a bad actor in this. and even as the administration if was able to kind of achieve the phase one agreement and dibble kind of benefits there -- and additional kind of benefits there which we're really encouraging, we know they end up falling back on those promises. so we would certainly encourage wherever possible that the u.s., who is not alone in having a bag relationship with china, to work with allies. to come together to try to address a lot of those challenges. that said, if we know that retaliation is imminent, making sure that through example that you said with the market a facilitation loan, that we already have plans in place should we reach that point of retaliation with or impact directly on the farms. so much to zippy's point here, there is certainty, there's

continuity out there because too much is at stake to have that disruption. >> i think that's an important point there. so i would emphasize and, again, ask both of you both in terms of the disaster assistance and then also whatever programs we need to make sure we keep our farmers in the game while we go through these negotiations to get them better access to markets, that we can work closely with you, with the associations not only farmers' union and farm bureau, but all the commodity groups as we go through that process and your commitment to work together on that. >> we would welcome it, thanks. >> and that is our job. our job is not to be critical of one party or the other or one president, administration, another president, it's our voice to be the job -- job to be the voice of the farmers across this country and express the concerns of the policies being considered. it's our job to do that, and i know my friend here and i have committed to making sure we express those concerns. and we'll express if

congratulations when we accomplish something. >> and be helpful in the process. >> yes, sir. we look forward to working with that. >> thank you, both. >> thank you. senator smith. >> well, thank you, chair boozman and ranking member klobuchar. welcome, both of you, to our panel. i think the last time i saw both of you, we were on another panel together at farmfest in minnesota last rainy august, so it's good to see you again. i also just want to take a moment the e well come -- to well mr. tim diehl to the committee today. he's a fourth generation minnesota farmer and is on the min-d a ac sugar beet cooperative board and is here with the american sugar beet growers. so welcome to the committee many. and i also just want to associate myself with the comments that that have been made by the ranking member and ores -- others about the crucial importance of getting around farm labor and, of course, the trade conversation we're having. i think it's vitally important. but i want to focus if i can for

a minute on -- i've got to tell you, i'm just really concerned about the trump administration, doge, federal employee buyout and hiring freeze that's happening. and what impact that could have, will have on usda, impact on the food and ag sector, access to disaster assistance, risk management tools and ultimately how this could hurt consumers. for example, just morning we heard reports about food inspection -- food safety inspectors taking the federal employee buyout which could result in not having enough inspectors in minnesota meat processing facilities, understanding minnesota's a huge producer of hogs and largest turkey producer in the country. and another example, you know, we've had a lot of reports from minnesotans and i think around the country about challenge challenges with staffing at fsa and the rnrcs staff at the local offices and how -- what a barrier that is to farmers

getting access, a trusted partner to the help them navigate and get the assistance that they need. so i want to just note that last year with i worked with senator rickets with the usda to get some recommendations back on what we canned do to do better there. and we got some good recommendations back, so that's a start in the right direction, but i don't want to lose that momentum. so i'm wondering, could each of you comment briefly on what impact staff reductions in local usda offices would have on your farmer members given these office as are already understaffed? >> well, it's already occurring right now. there's a lot of uncertainty out there in those county offices, and in spite of the fact that we are the envy of the world in having those usda personnel in those county offices that direct connection to farmers and ranchers for the important usda programs, staffing and the continuity of those operations

is a challenge, i think as you were saying. right now that's just being exacerbated. we're even hearing the return the office, we don't have folks who even have an office -- >> that's right. haven't had an office for years. this has nothing to do with can covid. >> that's right. we're hearing those stories. and just, you know, one thing we are leaning into is the national farmers' union signed a memorandum of understanding with usda toward the latter part of last year to look and value a wait at staffing opportunities, if you will, in the future, ways to make service better and improved. a the that doesn't necessarily mean additional staff, but making sure that the programs that we depend on can function. >> right. exactly. exactly. mr. duvall, if you'd like to comment briefly on this, and i'm hoping to get in another question. >> sure, i'll do it quickly. the last two secretaries had extensive conversations about the lack of help many our county

offices -- in our county offices. and as far as your meat packing in inspectors, we have farmers that want to go directly to consumers, but they have to schedule their meat if processing two years out -- meat processing. you understand the cow's going to carry the calf for nine months. two years out to be able to get a kill date, harvest date, and that is not a good situation. so this is just going to compound the situation. >> yeah. thank you. so i appreciated also you both bringing up the challenges of new and beginning farmers getting into the business, this giant generational transfer that is undergoing. and i also note, mr. larew, you talking about how it is in this country today farmers are keeping only about 15 cents out of every farm dollar -- food dollar, pardon me, and are often in the position of buying and selling monopolies. i think these things are all related. one of the reasons it's hard to get into farming is because of the concentration. one of the reasons that farmers are not making a good income is

because they're just not in a strong market position compared the these large conglomerates that are dictating prices not only from how much they're paying for input costs, but as a well how much they're going to get for that turkey or that, you know, or beef. this is something i really respect senator grassley for his work on this. i know that this is very important and is an issue of bipartisan interest. so in the just, i guess, no minutes left i have, maybe if you could just briefly comment on how you see your members being affected by this market consolidation. >> oh, fors across the -- it's across the board. certainly, there are opportunities as a result of that consolidation, and that includes things for direct to consumer as noted here. >> yes. and and you're exactly right. and the pressures on small and medium-sized farms, and you recognize yourself, with the advantages of being large you can buy cheaper. of the pressure's even more. and the american people, the american people love medium,

small-sized family farms, and that's what they want to exist and want to be able to buy their commodities from. and every time we put a regulation in or something like this, it makes it more difficult for them to stay on their farms. >> thank you very much, mr. chair. >> senator grassley. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you folks for attending. mr.-- zippy, i've been a member of the farm bureau since 1956. before i ask any of you questions, i've got a short statement. ..

we have a system that we describe and i have heard secretaries of agriculture describe as nothing more than a modern-day sharecropper farming system and we know how that turned out years and years ago, it was not good. we need transparency. we need our farmers need the

permit pay to be changed so they have a base pay not only for them but their bankers that depending on them to make payments on the families depending on them to make a living. that transparency will help us understand what people don't understand about animal agriculture, especially in integrated system when the chicken is delivered to me on my firm there are three things that go into how it performs. the environment it lives in, that's my responsibility and i have computers of people making sure it's perfect at all times. my wife will accuse me of taking better care of my chickens than my children because they were warmer. second is the quality of feed i have absolutely no control over. third and all of us deal with animal agriculture understand how important genetics is we have absolutely no control over genetics so 2 to 3 legs to

determine how the chicken is going to perform is not controlled by the farmer and she should have the transparency to understand what is behind the chicken because we all know an animal agriculture depends on the age of the mother how they are taken care of and the quality of the genetics. >> to come a little bit different on the same subject explain how changing the moving pieces of the rule could negatively impact poultry producers, if you. i'm raising that question because there might be something coming down the road when you have a new expiration. >> we think that the rules should continue to stay in place. to your point building on the questions here, bringing certainty and transparency is absolutely crucial. i think there are ideas and ways to continue to improve not

only contract growers and poultry but other sections that also have room for improvement when we look at transparency that is true and poultry and across the rest of livestock. >> i'm going to submit questions for answer in writing but i want to make one final point, i hope you can work hard for the around nationwide because that's can help commodity prices more than a lot of things we can do. think you. >> happy to support. >> thank you mr. chairman thank you ranking member for holding the hearing today. and for witnesses joining us today as well. mr. devol on the website the

farm bureau describes title iv nutrition programs as " reaching all lovers of supply chain from the farmers growing produce to the grocery store employee who puts it on the shelf. mr. devol do ããduvall do you agree that the ããhave a positive economic impact on farmers who grow the food being purchased using these dollars? i do. >> i want to take a minute to talk about the history of the farm bill since nutrition title was first added to the farm bill in 1973, the year after i was born, farmers antihunger advocates democrats and republicans all have come together consistently to pass a farm bill that ensures if we go by the farmers makes it onto the plates of americans. unfortunately there are proposals being considered right now that would undermine decades of success and disrupt the broad are partisan

collision that has historically would proposals to cut nutrition >> your question is what it imputed? i think that would be a difficult conversation and i think that is the conversation you will be having. of course it's our job to represent all the farm bill. we do know the benefits and we support the nutrition program. we also know there is a way smaller percentage that goes to helping support our food system through farmers to get from one season to another, and that has been way too long of getting

some attention to broadening the baseline, where my comments started. >> i agree there needs to be support for farmers, ranchers, food producers across america. there has also been a grand bargain to work with colleagues on all sides to say we should support our farmers and ranchers and support nutrition programs. mr. duval: nutrition programs were designed to give people a hand up at a difficult time, and we appreciate it. sen. lujan: americans wake up with produce in their fridges due to the hard work and dedication of this country's farmworkers as well. these workers are an integral part of our agricultural economy and work every day to feed families across america. the response to that sacrifice has been relentless attacks by this president and others in his administration due to some of their efforts.

i raised secretary of agriculture. did you know the usda estimates roughly half of the workforce is undocumented? mr. duvall: yes, our number is 40%. sen. lujan: do you think our farmers, ranchers who depend on that labor will survive when roughly half the workforce is unavailable? mr. duvall: first i would like to say our farmers want a system that they can work within the law and have a consistent workforce so they can deliver their crops on time with quality . and your question? sen. lujan: sen. lujan: i sen. lujan: will use your number. what happens if 40% of the workforce for farmers and ranchers disappears? mr. duvall: it would be devastating to agriculture. you would see farmers go out of business and we could see interruption to our food system like we saw in covid.

sen. lujan: this is an area i think we can work on. one of the strongest bipartisan bills that came out of the house recently was with farmworkers, with agriculture, finding a way to get that done. unfortunately we didn't get it through the senate, but it's one of those tools we can look at and make sure we have a stronger system. we can do it by investing in border security. we can fix the broken immigration system, we can do this in a bipartisan way. first you tap into farmers and ranchers when it comes to lowering cost for the american people, when it comes to making sure farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to grow those crops, keep them strong, keep them moving. i look forward to that as well. appreciate this hearing, i preached -- appreciate your time for being here. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and

thank to our for being here. we have so many witnesses that some of you i have already met with. we appreciate you taking the time to come to capitol hill, because you are truly helping us help you. i want to tell you how grateful i am for that. as we know, it is no secret that the u.s. economy and farming is headed a dark direction right now. u.s. farm economy. the 2023 crop year was bad. 2024 was horrendous and the upcoming crop year is not looking very pretty as well. crop income has dropped nearly $41 billion the last two years, the worst decline we have ever seen, and our trade deficit is expected to reach a record high of $45.5 billion for fiscal year 2025. this is the deficit we are looking at.

we used to brag about our trade surplus and we are certainly not in that position right now. costs are through the roof. crop prices are lower today than they were 15 years ago. the federal farm safety net is not providing adequate support to keep farmers and ranchers afloat. i have been pulling the alarm on this because i know the seriousness of this. because of this, producers across the country are literally going out of business. business and in short, u.s. agriculture is in trouble stop but when u.s. agriculture is in trouble and the farms are in trouble more importantly, those who are most in trouble are the ones.

rural america is definitely in a crisis mode and partly because congress has yet to come to terms with the fact that commodity support programs under title i of the farm bill title i of the farm bill which is the vital component of the farm safety net accounts for roughly 5% of the farm bill baseline. five percent.that's all. when folks say more farm in the farm bill, this is what they are talking about. it is so essential we let americans know the problems that we have in the seriousness of this. we know that when you stop production if you shut down all the production on the west coast if you shut down the slaughter facilities culturally banking plant shutdown the confines for 30 days we would have

enough food to feed this country for maybe 30 days. consumption is consistent, constantly eating every day, of what we are trying to provide, so we have to provide it every day. we are the ones that feed you. mr. duval, would you agree that commodity support programs under title i deserve significant improvement and significant investment? mr. duvall: i would agree. sen. hyde-smith: and the u.s. farm economy would be in a different place right now if congress had made proper investments and enacted a new farm bill a year ago. mr. duvall: totally agree. sen. hyde-smith: and that congress should invest in title i programs in the next farm bill as soon as possible to prevent today's problems from getting even worse than what they are. mr. duvall: i agree with that too. sen. hyde-smith: as you know,

agriculture is mississippi's number one industry at primary economic driver in our state, as we have discussed earlier in many states. i have been hearing that stakeholders are concerned about their future, access to crop protection tools, and biotechnology products. without these, mississippi farmers, farmers from all the states represented here today, we cannot produce a viable product. farmers in the south are subject to some of the most notorious insects and weeds in the whole world and they have to overcome this, once considered impossible , thanks to the amazing scientific inventions that the bureau of plant industry at mississippi state university -- so many strides that have been made. i have seen yields increase 400% because of these strides. we cannot stop this. this is national security.

you think a country will fight a war over oil? you let him get hungry. it is our jobs to do that. i appreciate the diligence both of you impress on me with your determination to do that. we are definitely in this together. everybody has to be on board. you mentioned the importance of sound, risk-based science when it comes to crop protection tools. will you allow -- elaborate on how much is is at risk if we abandon a science-based approach to regulating crop protection tools and be biotechnology? mr. duvall: it is critical that we continue to have faith in the system that provides science-based tools that we use on our farm. one out of 10,000 products makes it to market. it takes almost 11 years to get a product to market. we got 350 scientists at the epa

or whichever department it is making sure that those things are safe, and our farmers apply it according to the label because they own, live, and grow their families and their families work on that farm where they are applying those products. so no one is going to do anything to hurt their own family, let alone someone else's , in the land they invested generations into improving it. if you can look at my firm today versus what it was when my grandfather bought it, ditches and gullies and kudzu going on it because of the things we did not do right when cotton was king, you would see that for decades farmers and ranchers have done the right thing to regenerate their soils. because mine is a rolling green hill where cows graze now. and they have done the right things to grow more with less,

the right things to use less crop protection tools to grow more. everything we have done has been good for the consumer, the farm, the land, and also the environment. sen. hyde-smith: thank you so much for your answer. and god bless the farmer. >> thank you very much. much of what you said, i agree with. i was so impressed with your testimony. what's interesting to me is so many of the things you said, if we had two farmers from vermont, they would be saying the same. the other thing i think is an opportunity for this committee, we all care, both sides of the aisle, about rural america. vermont, dairy farming, vegetable farming is the backbone. those of us who don't farm benefit by those who do farm, and i want to express my appreciation. we have an opportunity in this divided country by focusing on the needs of agriculture in each

of our areas to try to bring us together, because we all do value the farm activity that is different in vermont than in west virginia or georgia. so i just want to go through a few questions. number one, the right to repair. farmers are really good at fixing things. why can't they just fix whatever it is they can fix? i support right to repair. how about you? that brings costs down, right? >> absolutely. costs not only in terms of equipment, parts, and labor, but also the time is often lost in harvest delays. sen. welch: let me just make a point. the commodity price that we have to deal with in order to make sure there is a safety net is one side. if we can bring the cost down, that helps as well. mr. larew: absolutely.

sen. welch: number two, tariffs. one of you was talking about potash. we had a meeting in vermont and that is what they talked about, one of our farm -- our grain suppliers who works closely with the farmers. we are going to get hammered if the price on that goes up, and we get most from canada. my viewpoint on tariffs is do no harm. would you agree? mr. larew: absolutely. we are already seeing the effects. sen. welch: we shouldn't do that to our hard-working farmers. my understanding is the last time we had tariffs, a lot of midwest farmers lost market share to brazil. that hasn't come back. do you see it as a possibility it could happen again? mr. larew: very much so. sen. welch: you talked about how hard it is for young farmers to get involved, and that is certainly true in vermont because everything is really difficult. we introduced a bill on farm ownership. the farm ownership improvement

act. what it would do is allow for preapproval and prequalification process that is in the farm ownership improvement act that benefits farmers who are starting. you get this preapproval and it cuts the red tape. does that make sense to you as an option? mr. larew: we are definitely in support. sen. welch: another thing, the weather act. we are getting wild weather. i know you have had it in georgia, we certainly have in vermont. big floods in 2023 and 2024. these are vegetables by and large. we have to have an insurance program. the hassles these farmers had to go through, they had to account for each types of vegetable. carrots, how many onions, how many radishes did you lose. they went by wholesale price when all these farmers sell at a farmers market at retail. don't you think it's time to change that? >> definitely.

>> yes. sen. welch: you guys are doing a great job, and my hope is -- senator marshall and i have worked together on a lot of things, including this. we have to take the rhetoric out. farm labor, immigration, big issue, very controversial, very political. you know what's very simple? if you don't have farm labor. in vermont, you don't milk the cows. you are with us trying to give stability for farm labor so that our farmers who have to have that labor are able to get the job done. right? mr. larew: absolutely. mr. duvall: yes, sir. sen. welch: thank you. another thing -- i'm going to say this is black history month and i want to celebrate it. i know there's a lot of young black farmers who would like to get back on the land, many families especially in the south did lose the foothold they had. my hope is we will include folks

who have lost their land through historical reasons. i want to ask you to comment, but i know you know any young farmer is a farmer we want to get on the land. would you both agree? >> yes. >> yes. sen. welch: i appreciate hearing from you. i do think the work you are doing has the potential for us to unify and do things that get farmers stronger and our rural communities stronger. so thank you very much and i look forward to working with you , i look forward to working with my colleagues. >> thank you, senator welch. good morning, gentlemen. it's kind of lonely up here today. everyone's out voting, and i'm sure more will come back in a moment. but mr. larew, i want to talk about farmer mental health and farmer suicide. this is something near and dear to my heart for many reasons. over the past several years we tried to go out in the

communities, doing roundtables trying to connect the dots. the resources are out there to help. i want to back up and say to all my farmers and ranchers, the pressure is very real. the pressure is very real. the pressure of losing a fifth, sixth, seventh generation farm, to be that person that can't keep the farm together in the family, that's an immense amount of pressure. then i wanted to talk about solutions. i know american farm bureau has been out here trying to connect the dots as well and the resources. i appreciate the education programs you are doing with the farmers. i am trying to work with the lenders. the lenders were some of the first people to see the signs and symptoms of depression and i think we are making progress but it's still tough times in ag land. mr. duvall, maybe speak about american suicide -- about farmer suicide and what the american farm bureau is trying to do to help us in this situation.

mr. duvall: our organizations have worked arm in arm to try to bring awareness to this. this is a difficult subject to talk about. it really is. did a survey in the georgia and florida area. the alarming fact we heard is that young farmers -- i will try to get you the statistics correctly because i'm going off memory -- i think less than 10 years, 50% of them had considered suicide in that 10 years. 50%. i'm a crusty old farmer and when my wife died, yeah, i balled it up inside. mike crusty old farmers do. they say we don't talk about our feelings. i was wrong. it's okay to not be okay but it's not okay not to talk about it. we've got to get rid of the stigma that goes along with it. and the only way to do that is to talk to farmers, make farmers and the families aware to be noticeable what's going around.

just like you're working with the farm credit system because they see them every day. the farmer in minnesota, him and his sons, they ate breakfast one morning before they went to church, came back from church lunch together. , eight the talked about financial issues of the farm, and before the sun went down the dad has taken his life. that cannot continue to happen. it is a disaster. sen. marshall: i encourage everybody to be a good neighbor. most of us notice when our neighbor suddenly is not going to church or not going to a ballgame. there are some of those very subtle things out there we are all aware. mr. duvall: sometimes all it takes is a text message or pick him up and taken to a cup of coffee and let him talk. sometimes that's all it takes. sen. marshall: yeah, being a good neighbor. mr.larew, in your testimony you talked about farmers selling to monopolies. how do we put farmers back in control? and then what else can we do to

get the farmer more options? i'm sure you have thought about this. mr. larew: absolutely, and i appreciate the question because the challenges are very real. if we look at those raising cattle, selling to the beef market right now, it's a whole combination of things. it's making sure that first we are not doing any harm in terms of our trading relations, making sure that the existing resources out there for slaughter processing continues so that the market flow continues. but at the end of the day, we still have a highly concentrated beef market, for example, and this is true across agriculture, where the opportunity for collusion and manipulation of the market is too great. so whatever we can do to reinforce the laws on the books, not necessarily seeking new laws to enforce, our antitrust regulations, and also to make sure the packers and stockyards are truly serving the needs of

our farmers and ranchers. i think those are great places to start. we are also starting to invest in additional processing and marketing opportunities so it's a combination of things along the line. sen. marshall: great. one thing we have pushed for is to allow beef to be sold across state lines with a state inspection, and trying to provide farmers and ranchers with easier access to the markets as well. go ahead, zip. you got a comment, it looks like. mr. duvall: also in a world of technology, there is got to be a better, more efficient way of doing it rather than the way we are doing it. and make sure the availability is out there. these small and medium packinghouses are under huge pressure to make a profit, just like farmers are. as they get in those positions, they tend to go out of business and that takes away from the farmers to be able to utilize it. if they become a threat to a larger packer, they just buy them. sen. marshall: next, we need to turn to the senior center from

the great state of kansas. senator moran. sen. moran: nice of you to recognize me, senator marshall. i am pleased to be here in my debut hearing as the newest, most junior member of the senate committee on agriculture, and i appreciate the ability to be back fully engaged in this arena. i just wanted to raise a couple things. i would like for you to highlight for the committee and for the administration, for the new secretary, something we have highlighted to her and others as recently as this morning with conversations with usda personnel. the quick implementation of disaster assistance, just the reminder of why that matters. it needs to be a matter of days and a week or so, not months or longer. please briefly tell me why that's important. mr. duvall: one, we need the

secretary placed in her position , and we look forward to that because the sooner we do that, the sooner we get it out. it is critical we do this because we have been put in this situation because we do not have a modernized five-year farm bill . it's been kicked down the road two years. we appreciate the extension but it's not going to solve the problem. mr. larew: we have talked about the economic challenges that are ongoing, not only looking back. the need to get that rolled out as quickly as possible is actually paramount. absolutely. sen. moran: my next comment may not be a question, but it is something i want to highlight that you both indicated. i think it was you, mr. president -- i guess that doesn't limit the scope of who i am talking about. the farm bureau president, mr. duvall. representation of not just farmers, representation of the community they live in, rural america. i really think this is hugely important to the country as well

as the people who want to raise their families in a place we all call home. i would highlight the things we have faced that you would have policy positions and inputs on. we have talked about tariffs, disaster assistance, tax preventions. zippy, you mentioned those in your opening statement, the continuation of those provisions. a new farm bill. that has huge consequences on farmers, obviously. the result of our decisions and the outcome of those debates determine whether my hospital doors stay open, there are kids in our schools, whether the grocery store exists. for a long time i have indicated where i come from, economic development is often whether there is a grocery store in town. when you say that explanation, that requires -- say that sentence, that requires excellent nation. why would that be? in the absence of farmers, we lose banks, hospitals. those things are important.

it suggests to me that we need to have a complete focus on how we get commodity prices up in addition to getting input costs down. i would indicate renewable fuels is an important aspect. we are fully engaged trying to pursue and implement renewable aviation fuel. trade agreements, you both have mentioned. i would welcome your input on what countries stand out to you that are prime for us to reach a bilateral trade agreement with. i will pause there for that answer. mr. duvall: first one that comes to mind is india and the asia-pacific pacific rim. mr. larew: i would absolutely agree. i think implied by your question is also making sure that those existing markets we have there that we rely so heavily on are not lost. sen. moran: that's a good occasionally i will have someone point.

in kansas, a farmer perhaps, who indicates let's take care of ourselves. and i'm all for doing that. but taking care of ourselves in the case of agriculture means trade, exports, it means markets. my answer has been sometimes, so what 40% of acres in kansas do you not want to plant and harvest? because we produce more than we can consume, and therefore all the opportunities we need for exports, all the opportunities we need for trade, all the opportunities we need to utilize the output into other products, including renewable fuels, become all the more important. what are we missing? mr. duvall: yes, we do need to take care of ourselves, but if we don't produce 20% of our income from exports, what do we do when we have a bad year? we fall short if we produce for ourselves and that's all? it's critical we maintain those trade treaties because it's a big part of our income and it

stabilizes the system in case of emergency. mr. larew: and stepping additionally on top of that, there's domestic opportunities, whether it's investing in those communities with value-added products such as biofuels. those domestic market opportunities have to be continually invested in as well. sen. moran: thank you. finally, my conversation with usda this morning, along with the chairman of this committee, the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on agriculture dealt with what we believe to be true is that $560 million worth of food commodities is sitting in ports awaiting the ability to be moved to places where people are starving. while there is certainly a moral component to food aid, i thought it might be valuable for you to remind me if there's a value to farmers. i remember in the last trump administration i was driving

through kensington, kansas. grain sorghum piled on railroad avenue. kensington is a town of a few thousand people. elevator along railroad avenue and the grain piled on the ground was as high as the elevator. we need in addition to trade exports, what role does food aid play in helping farmers have a better outcome in their economics? mr. duvall: any food aid helps in the economic picture for farmers. and it's important to realize that we support efficiencies. we want it done in an efficient way and not be wasteful. but we also have to think about the sustainability of our world. i have had the opportunity to have a general son marry into my family. he is retired now but i remember distantly remember having a conversation with them.

he said what you do brings more stability to the world than anything else, because when people get hungry they get me in and matt and get jealous of our country that has everything available to them. mr. larew: our members certainly recognize both the humanitarian need for that food aid, but also the impact it can have in terms of bringing stability to our own markets. particularly now with a lot of pressure on those commodities, some of those commodities are at risk should there be major disruptions, falling even further. sen. moran: thank you both. >> thanks for holding this hearing. as everyone in this room knows, the state of the agricultural economy is in dire straits. we are in trouble. it's not getting much better. our farmers are struggling, producers have lost more than $40 billion net farm income

since 2022 and the current agriculture deficit is $45.5 billion. we cannot stay on that track. producers in alabama and across the country are producing bumper crops but cannot break event, much less breaker profit, due to low commodity prices and inflation. it's been 13 years since prices for title i commodities have been updated, yet the costs of production are not what they were 13 years ago. they are 30% to 40% higher. our farmers need a new farm bill with a reliable safety net to produce -- support producers amidst natural disasters and skyrocketing production costs. the economic assistance congress passed in december was a crucial lifeline to keep some producers afloat, and we need to make sure it is implemented quickly. mr. do all, you discussed the importance of extending expiring

provisions of president trump's 2017 tax cuts and jobs act to keep farmers in business. can you discussed the tax provisions that our producers rely on most? mr. duvall: i can. one, it provided for a reduced tax rate for most of our farmers. 98% of them are operating under pass-through entities, and that's important to them. section 199a is important to them because it preserves the 22% business income deduction. action 179 also needs to be continued. it's called bonus depreciation. it allows farmers to reinvest in their business so they can meet the goals the country has for us , whether it be conservation climate, whatever it might be. we have to have that bonus depreciation. the last one, when we spoke about young farmers and beginning farmers, estate taxes.

estate taxes needs to be eliminated so we can continue to pass farms on for generations, make sure we bring stability to our food system. this is something people sweat blood to pay for. it is their land, their home, and they want to keep it in production. there are so many pressures on that land staying in production, it's unreal, and this pressure makes it unbelievable when a family person dies and you have to sell part of the farm to pay the taxes. what does that do? it puts it into production, solar panels or whatever, and it never comes back to agriculture. sen. tuberville: bonus depreciation, state taxes, my phone rings off the wall and we need to listen. mr. duvall, the agriculture

trade deficit is $45.5 billion. america has the best farmers and producers in the world. what suggestions do you have to improve ag trade and close the gap? mr. duvall: new agreements, open up the market. we can compete with anybody in the world as long as we are allowed to use innovation and the research that has come into our farms that keeps us on the cutting edge, and as long as our farmers are led by voluntary market-based programs, we will do anything this country asks us to do. we have proven that by putting over 140 million acres into conservation over the last two decades. that's the size of california and new york state together. chair boozman: senator schiff. sen. schiff: thank, mr. chairman. i think everyone can agree that american farmers today face deeply different challenges, from extreme weather events,

never ending labor shortages, and a looming trade war, just to name a few. these challenges come on top of a job that's inherently demanding and at times unforgiving. it's congress's job to ensure that when farmers are faced with a worst-case scenario, they have the tools to weather the storm and eventually rebuild. that's why congress invests billions each year in federal crop insurance and disaster assistance programs. while traveling through california, i learned many of our growers simply are not eligible for the insurance or assistance they need. california farmers are incredibly resilient but they deserve our full support as well. mr. larew, can you speak to the challenges that specialty crop growers face when it comes to accessing federal programs? perhaps you both could address what steps you think congress could take to expand access to risk management options for these particular growers. mr. larew: i would start with

the investment has been really appreciated over the years by our specialty crop growers in research, for not only opening new markets, but also to make sure we are managing pressure. that's been a really important investment we would want to make sure continues going forward. because it's absolutely true that current risk management tools are limited for the high value. it just doesn't often make sense even when there is a policy available. i do think whether it's growers in the central valley or fruit and vegetable growers across the country looking for additional ways to improve existing programs to make it work better for specialty crop growers is going to be an important part of making sure all of our producers can manage the risk. mr. duvall: i agree with rob here. i will reiterate that any farmer

that is putting a crop in the land and defending -- depending on the good lord to give him things to grow with, with the markets like they are, deserves to have some risk management program. difficulty comes with making it very complicated. the smaller the farm, the more difficult it is to do. it needs to be simplified. a lot of people are not going to do it because it is too difficult. they are in the field working. it's a lot of these farm to market people and they deserve a shot to have that risk management too. sen. schiff: i appreciate that. i was visiting citrus growers just this past weekend. we talked about a number of issues, including the one i raised, but we also talked about how california citrus groves are being affected by the bacteria infection hlb. this has been devastating to citrus growers in florida and elsewhere.

it was interesting for me to learn about the work, the research, the investment being made in a certain species of wasp that is a natural predator to the insects responsible for spreading this disease. this is a great part of the solution and i wonder if you both could address how investments in agriculture resource -- research are also key to making sure the farming community succeeds. mr. larew: whether it is through our land grant institutions or usda agencies themselves, it may be safe to say we can't overinvest in research. you hit on a couple of key points. not only the existing pests but emerging threats as well. whether it is looking for ways to combat that and make sure we are innovative in our approach,

investments are critically important and making sure we are removing barriers wherever possible. mr. duvall: i totally agree. the alarming thing to me is if we look around the world, in comparison to china they are spending three dollars for our one dollar in research and development. research and development keeps us on the cutting edge of keeping our food system secure. sen. schiff: thank you to both gentlemen. mr. chairman, i look forward to working with you to make sure these specialty crop farmers can access the insurance and insistence, that we keep the marketing programs strong and well-funded but also continue to invest in research. we could easily lose billions to these bacteria, and investment of millions in research to save billions of crops is a really good investment. i thank you, mr. chairman. i yelled back. chair boozman: thank you and those are excellent points.

are you done? ok, good. thank you all for being here. this has been excellent. here. >> let's take a second and get our second panel up. >> can we say thank you >> can we say thank you again? all of you are invited to our convention next year in anaheim the celebrate a new farm that's going to pass. [inaudible] >> bless your heart.