U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith has urged Congress to provide emergency market loss assistance to American farmers and ranchers before the end of the year. Speaking at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, she emphasized the need for support to prevent producers in Mississippi and nationwide from going out of business.
Hyde-Smith highlighted that many farmers face financial difficulties due to natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts, as well as economic challenges such as high input costs and low commodity prices. “Many farmers across the country are on the verge of going out of business because a hurricane, wildfire, drought, or other weather-related event wiped out entire crops. And they need help,” she stated.
Despite President Biden’s nearly $100 billion emergency supplemental request to Congress for various federal agencies, which includes $24 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), it does not address market loss assistance for agricultural producers.
The Senator pointed out that historically Congress has provided ad hoc assistance during damaging economic events beyond farmers’ control. She noted that net farm income has dropped by nearly $50 billion nationally over the past two years, marking a significant decline in U.S. agricultural history.
“It is absolutely essential that Congress provide emergency assistance for agricultural producers before the end of this year,” Hyde-Smith asserted. She stressed that traditional Farm bill structures would not deliver aid swiftly enough.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small responded to Hyde-Smith’s concerns by stating that “whatever Congress establishes, it is our responsibility to deliver.”
