jennifer james, board of directors usa rice newport arkansas, and i know how excited are chairman isintroduce both you and mr. reid i see how he bookend at this deal which doesn't surprise me. >> thank you very much for your help. i did mention that inadvertently that i said when i introduced senator moran i said the great state of texas inadvertently i was thinking about my wife she's from texas. i think he is still a little upset about it. hopefully we can give them some special dispensation as a result. >> i understand he's from arkansas i understand why he would be upset. me at this again out a little bit extra to our arkansas folks. nathan read great arkansan from marianna located in the heart of mississippi delta region. he currently serves on the board of directors for the national council. back in arkansas he serves as executive officer with arkansas ag council and serves on the arkansas plant board. which is a thankless job. over the years i had the pleasure of getting to know him and listen to its experience and challenges he faces he and his family will find him to be reso

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