Demand for Action on ‘Economic Crisis in Rural America’ Sent to Congress by 56 Farm Groups

Feb. 8—A joint letter was sent Jan. 15 to the U.S. Congress, by 56 farm groups, on the “economic crisis in rural America,” demanding action. The letter was directed to the Republican and Democratic leadership of the Senate and House.

The letter expresses thanks for the $12 billion to be distributed this month under the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program, but stresses that these funds “do not cover the extensive and cumulative losses that farmers have absorbed over the last several years.”

President Donald DonaldTrump then made a visit to Iowa the following week, holding a rally in Clive Jan. 27, praising how great the economy is doing, and that farmers should hang on, because things will get better after the FBA money. He called for more biofuels and implored action for the GOP to win the midterm elections. However, both the Trump Administration and Democrats’ policies are based on continuing the same so-called “free” market model of monopolies, behind the current crisis.

On Feb. 3, a second alarm was sounded in a joint letter to Congress by farm leaders of all backgrounds, including former U.S. Department of Agriculture officials, titled, “Former Agriculture Leaders Warn of Farm Economy in Crisis, Call on Congress To Act and Engage with Farmers.” Reviewing the crisis, it stated, “There are few tragedies greater than the loss of a family farm, representing not just a loss of livelihood but a loss of a way of life for rural families,” the leaders wrote. “And when American farmers suffer, the entire rural economy is impacted—from schools, to churches, to main street businesses.”

The letter has concrete proposals, ranging from self-evidently demanding support for physical production, to continuation of the free-market model responsible for the crisis. It calls for, "immediately exempt all [emphasis in original, meaning, fertilizer, chemicals, genetics, etc.) farm inputs from tariffs. It also calls for stiffening trade agreements.

The organizations signing the Jan. 15 letter represent the farmers and ranchers that produce all major farm goods, from beef and dairy, to sugar, citrus, fruits and vegetables, grains and legumes. The American Farm Bureau Federation, reported as the organizer of the letter, has been posting reports and charts illustrating many detailed aspects of the U.S. crisis.

The letter states: “For the last three to four years the reality of record-high input costs and rapidly declining and historically low crop and specialty crop prices have culminated in many U.S. farmers experiencing negative margins and losses approaching $100 billion nationwide.”