The U.S. House Budget Committee plans to mark up a bill that includes more ad hoc assistance for farmers.
Congressman Brad Finstad of Minnesota recently shared that there’s approximately $11 billion in economic aid for row crops. “And that would be delivered as a bridge payment similar to what we have seen in the last year.”
The Minnesota Republican says lawmakers understand farmers are dealing with a stale market while input costs continue to rise.
“Post COVID, farmers like everyone were hit with the inflationary increases, the input costs that increased. So that gap between inputs and market opportunities just fell apart on us.”
Finstad says the House should move on the reconciliation package soon.
“It will be a little bit different than normal state of play in the Senate (because of reconciliation). Typically, it takes 60 votes to get things through; this will be a 50-vote threshold. So, we’re having a lot of conversations with the Senate to pre-grease the skids on it to make sure we have a strong chance of success.”
Some House Republicans on the budget committee have reportedly said the reconciliation bill would include $20 billion in farm aid and $70 billion for defense.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
This type of aid will certainly help stabilize farm income and relieve some financial pressure for many crop producers. I recently saw a statistic that said farmers would receive somewhere between 44 to 55 billion dollars in government aid payments this year. That is a substantial amount of government assistance. But given the current geopolitical situation and the fact that agriculture is a national security interest, perhaps it is justified.
These types of payments will allow farmers to pay down debt and, in many cases, be able to purchase needed equipment and supplies. One of the items they will be looking for is a new or qualified used truck or SUV to keep their operation operating at or near peak performance. Make sure to emphasize that by purchasing that truck or SUV, they also qualify for AgPack®. It is a program that can save them thousands on products they need or use on the farm/ranch. The program is free and can help them lower their operating costs and improve their margins. It’s a very powerful package!
