After Thanksgiving, Congress will be swarmed with requests and priorities from all industries and organizations. Agriculture must stay vigilant to not get lost in the shuffle! Call your Senators and Representatives and remind them of what farm country needs!Congress needs to hear your story and how the current circumstances have affected you and your farm operation. For additional reference, see the priorities and talking points for producers prepared by PCG below.Producer
Priorities:
1. Economic Assistance (need a package that bridges the gap in the absence of strong farm policy)
2. Farm Bill (need updated strong farm policy for producers to keep up with the cost of production)
3. Disaster Assistance (completely separate from the economic assistance package at No. 1 — producers need relief from natural disasters)
Talking Points:
• Inflation has driven input costs up to unsustainable levels while commodity market prices have fallen 25% in the last two years.
• Economic assistance needs to be considered as well to help us continue to operate between now and when the farm bill is fully implemented.
• As cotton producers in the PCG area, we represent 50-60% of the state’s cotton production,25-35% of the nation’s production and 35% of the world’s production.
Don’t forget about us. We need Congress to act now and pass a new and improved farm bill and provide a bridge of economic assistance to weather financial crisis the cotton industry across the U.S. is currently facing.