On Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review the state of the farm economy, which included testimony from USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. Particularly given the limited Congressional schedule in September, the scheduling of this hearing highlights the high level attention that Chairman Pat Roberts, Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, and members of the Committee are giving to the difficult economic circumstances in farm country. In his opening remarks, Chairman Roberts specifically raised the conditions in wheat country, including the large harvest as well as extremely low prices that have triggered loan rates in Kansas and throughout the country.
NAWG President Gordon Stoner filed written testimony to be included as part of the Congressional Record. His testimony discussed the dire situation for wheat farmers resulting from prices that aren’t covering cost of production, and the outlook that the situation will not improve anytime soon. Stoner also discussed NAWG’s efforts to get feedback from our producers via a Farm Bill survey, the information from which will serve to guide the development of NAWG’s priorities for the next Farm Bill. Video from the hearing and Secretary Vilsack’s testimony can be found at this link.