Democracy doesnt just this. Looks like this. Americans consume democracy at work and citizens are truly enforce public thrive. Get informed, straight from the slopes. Unfiltered, unbiased word for word. The nations capitol to wherever you are to get the opinion that matters the most is your own. This is what democracy looks like. Cspan powered by cable. Next groups representing farmers testify on Crop Insurance and other federal Safety Net Programs also discuss changes they would like to see in federal farm offering this is about three hours. Good morning. The subcommittee on commodities, Risk Management and trade will come to order. Welcome to all of our witnesses. Senator hyde smith thank you to you and your staff working together with us to organize this hearing today. Chair stabenow and i believe Ranking Member boozman will be with us shortly but it would to thank them for joining us many thanks to the full Committee Staff for all of your help and support with this hearing. Thank you to everyone for attending. This morning is going to be a twopart hearing. Today was on the farm bill, the products title. On thursday will take on title v. The credit title in title 11 the Crop Insurance title. February the full committee the full Senate Committee heard from usda officials their family views of Risk Management and credit. Today we have the opportunity to hear directly from farmers, producers, stakeholder groups that work with farm Safety Net Programs every day. Hearing from you is extremely important is closest to the work you know best what is working and what can be improved. We are especially grateful you took time to be here with us at such a busy time of the year. And administer to warm up the fields are starting to dry out. My colleague senator klobuchar is he at work here at spring in many parts of the country we look forward to welcoming that to minnesota as well. I know all members of this can make sure the goal of passing a bipartisan farm bill reauthorization. A bill that meets the needs of American Farmers, ranchers and producers and every part that meets the moment. Farmers, ranchers, Dairy Farmers poultry and livestock producers the center of our economy. Our food assistant security. There is nothing more important than our country then a stable, secure, healthy food supply. That means leaving Stable Secure producers that have the tools you need to weather the ups and downs of agriculture my old friend Dave Fredrickson a farmer from former minnesota egg commissioner and head of the Farmers Union once told me farmers are the most optimistic people in the world. And also he added the most in touch with the potential disasters lurking around the corner, you have to be. That is with his farm Safety Networks come in. There are the tools to help weather the inevitable ins and outs that will be part of your life and your lifes work. Today of the prices are good the egg step faces many challenges today producers are struggling to start other operating costs this is especially true for small and mediumsized farms according to the usda 50 of farms have negative farm income. The high level of concentration in the egg sector combined with supply Chain Disruption has driven up input costs which are now outpacing Commodity Prices putting farmers and Small Farmers in a real bind. Climate change and extreme weather events are increasing risk for farmers as they deal with droughts, floods, wind, and hail it increase past the market is deploying new technology need farm safety that works for you to mitigate losses and even out the inevitable ups and downs. In minnesota 202,240,000 producers participated in art and plc minnesota Dairy Farmers relied on the Coverage Program and the sugar beet farmers depended on the program and thanks to the incredible Public Partnership minnesota 67000 farms and ranches created more than 16 billion in value, every member of this committee would have a similar story to tell about their own state the challenges the innovation and opportunity. Over the last year my staff and i held dozens of farmville sessions in minnesota what we learned many producers the farm safety net is working is definitely helping but we also heard there are gaps not of Risk Management and Safety Networks for smaller operations especially produce farmers the programs sometimes in a tweak here and there could really help farmers of color in a digit is farmers in particular struggle to find a safety net that works for them. Thats what todays hearing is all about an opportunity for the subcommittee to hear directly from you about whats working what not working and what needs to be improved there are a few issues i look forward to hearing about im interested in hearing about all of you and both panels what are your top order two priorities for farmville Safety Net Programs what can we do to make these programs work for small beginning farmers and nontraditional producers and how should the fda, excuse me how should the usda support you i hear constantly about staffing shortages at local fsa offices. I would like to hear about your experiences and what do you think we should do. How is the consolidation and agriculture in seed to processing affect the risks that you face as you run your operation. I look forward to hearing from all of todays witnesses about these issues and more and i look forward to a very productive discussion. Now i turn to senator highsmith. Good morning thank you, chairwoman smith and fellow Community Members and take all of you for being here today in the witnesses for being willing to testify and serve this is truly appreciated as a Ranking Member of the commodity Risk Management and trade subcommittees i am pleased that were holding this producer perspective on the farm safety net hearing its an honor to serve on this committee and sentence work is so critical to americas hardworking farmers im also grateful for chairwoman and Ranking Member bozemans commitment to this issue as well, today we have the privilege to hear from general farming organizations and a wide array of producers who provide insight into the challenges facing producers in miccosukee as well across the country as we discussed the farm safety net it is critical that we hear from producers directly to better understand the unique perspective and their needs, their views can help us ensure that our policies and programs are responsive and effective it in. I look forward to a productive discussion, as we all know american agriculture is subject to a wide range of challenges and uncertainties from unpredictable water under weather patterns to market condition to evolving trade policy and regulation, each challenge can have a Significant Impact on the viability of the market farmers many operate on thin market profit margin now this is why the farm safety net authorizes and entitles one in 11 of the farmville is so critical this committee must get this right in the 2023 farmville, there is no room for air. The farm safety net is the backbone of our nations Agriculture Policy and it provides protection for producers who may face unforeseen losses and setbacks that are beyond our control, the farm safety net helps protect the viability of a Rural Communities in the foundations agriculture, i want Young Mississippians to view returning home to take care of the family farm as a possibility and attractive option congress has opportunity to make this a reality by strengthening the farm Safety Net Program. When i visit with miccosukee producers i always tell them your priorities are my priorities miccosukee is home to large and small families and as my friend Ranking Member bozeman says this farmville will not neglect the small or punish the large, time after time i hear from producers that the current safety net is inadequate especially for seed, cotton and rice price for the Agriculture Risk Coverage that our program in the Coverage Programs are calculated the 2014 farmville using data from 2012 more than a decade ago, we know a lot has changed since then. Existing reference dont reflect recent global events that is disruptive to make an Agricultural Industry including the china trade wars, the covid pandemic in the war in ukraine. Increasing input cost many of which thanks to president bidens were in American Energy have also contributed to the inadequacy of Reference Prices. Listening to our producers in understanding the experiences and challenges we can identify these areas with a safety net can be strengthened or improved in ensure that it remains effective and efficient supporting agriculture producers. This approach will help to ensure our policies and programs are responsive and effective and ultimately support the longterm sustainability and prosperity of our nations agriculture industry which i think is all of our goals. In this hearing i look forward to having opportunity to hear directly from mr. Johnson in miccosukee and other guests to gain insight into the challenges and opportunities across the country, we will also explore ways to improve the strength and strength of the safety net to ensure it is responsive to the needs of everyone. President eisenhower once said farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and youre a thousand miles away from the cornfield. That is why this farmville will be developed for producers by producers this hearing is critical as we continue to engage with farmers to understand a unique perspective and need and ensure that the safety net is tailored to meet those needs. I look forward to todays discussion, thank you, chairwoman smith i yield back the remainder of my time. Thank you so much and welcome chair, were glad to have you with us this morning. Were going to begin our first panel. We have two witnesses on a first panel, president of the American FarmBureau Federation, mr. Devol i know senator warnock was hoping to introduce you but is not here yet so im going to plow forward, he served as president of the American FarmBureau Federation since 2016 he is a thirdgeneration farmer from georgia he and his son operate a beef cow herd raised chickens a rather hey with the family for more than 90 years, welcome to the committee. I would also like to welcome president of the national Farmers Union rob leroux, rob is the president of the National Farm union and prior to joining the national Farmers Union he worked for over 22 years in congress and developing agriculture policies, rob worked for both representative Collin Peterson from minnesota in the late senator as president of the national Farmers Union rob is the national advocate on behalf of farmers and managers. President duval and president leroux uhf five minutes for your Opening Statement as the clock in front of you in your full written statement will be made part of the record, president you are recognized for your Opening Statement. Thank you so much chairwoman smith and Ranking Member highsmith we really relish the opportunity to come and speak to you. One of the things that you did not say in my bio i spent 30 years in georgia as a child in 30 years as a developed i have a long history of continue to farm their in georgia. We want to thank you all for your work that we do for farmers adventures across the country each and every day and in your opening comments, you are right on target with what youre hearing across a region in the country. As ive said before our country that cannot feed itself and its people is not secure the strong farm policy that supports a food supply truly is part of a Smart National security strategy, the most recent farm Sector Income sees a decrease in net farm income in 2023 of 18 when adjusted to inflation. The same report estimates farm and ranch production expenses that you mention chairwoman will continue to increase by 18 billion, this has a record increase of 70 billion in 2022. The short and longterm Interest Rates that are high and rising have doubled and tripled in some cases in the last few years. High Interest Rates is caused by high inflation and the feds inflation has led to the debt crisis and in the 1980s. We need to make sure that the doubling and tripling of Interest Rates does not cause the similar pressures on our farms and ranches because we already have Mental Health issues across the farm because of the stresses they are going to. Along with the challenges there is enormous opportunities in the market agriculture, innovation and research are helping us more with us, our advances in sustainability are nothing short of the presence. In order to seize the opportunity gain continued advancements we need strong farm policy much uncertainty remains related to the ability for farmers to ranch and access affordable supplies and to manage volatility into volatile markets and deal with the regulation and the weatherrelated challenges. Our growers need to have access to comprehensive Risk Management options such as those commodity title in the farmville through profit shares, in particular we need to see improvements and title i the taking account the current challenges facing production agriculture. Such as farm bureau support the following rentables to guide the development of the program in the next farmville, increasing the baseline funding, commitments to farm programs we already talked about the cost of production and it needs to reflect what it cost us to produce these products, to maintain a unified bill that includes nutrition programs and farm programs together the farmville should be named the food and farmville we need to prioritize the funding for Risk Management which included Crop Insurance and title i commodity programs, of course there are important investments throughout the farmville investments in Critical Research to feel the incredible innovation that is help farmers and ranchers do more with less. Investments in voluntary incentivebased Conservation Programs that have helped farmers achieve impressive sustainability and investments to ensure that those facing hunger and access that are farmers are dedicated to producing more and more are worthy programs in the farmville the 2023 farmville presents an important opportunity for you the lawmakers of our great country we urge you to Work Together and begin to pass the legislation of both security and allamericans and insurers the future success of farmers and ranchers that will also keep our National Security intact. Thank you for holding the hearing today look forward to the questions thank you now we turn to president leroux. Thank you so much transmit and Ranking Member highsmith the members of the subcommittee thank you for the invitation to testify the national Farmers Union is a general Farm Organization and for the Economic Prosperity of farmers, ranchers and their communities through education cooperation the legislation. We can all Work Together to ensure the next farmville is as strong as it can be through sound Crop Insurance and commodity programs. I also want to emphasize, the importance of diversified income and opportunities as well as the need for fair and competitive markets. Its been an eventful five years since the farmville became law. We seen disruptions with china a trade dispute with china increasingly frequent and Severe Weather disasters in supply and demand and russias invasion of ukraine usda predicts a 21 decline have identified the wellfunded Disaster Program for market disruption in extreme weather Reference Prices and loan rates should offset higher cost of production. In crop producers we support farmers voluntarily removing marginal nor sensible land through production on annual basis in exchange for Crop Insurance produc