About 40 percent of U.S. producers worked 200 or more days off the farm in 2022, the Census of Agriculture says.
And according to the Agricultural Resource Management Survey, more than half of American family farms didn’t turn a profit that year.
The Farm Bureau is asking federal lawmakers to provide temporary stability.
“In the short term, we urge leaders to authorize bridge payments for farmers before the end of 2025,” the letter says. “These payments must be robust enough to address sector-wide gaps and provide meaningful support as the federal government works to recalibrate trade strategies, stabilize prices, and strengthen key market relationships.”
The Trump administration has set aside billions of dollars for a support package for farmers.
Reports indicated news of the support package could emerge this week, but the ongoing shutdown, which is in its ninth day, has pushed the timeline back.
In the long run, the Farm Bureau wants to see a renewed push to support agriculture through sound policy.
Some the organization’s requests include the restoration of whole milk in schools, year-round sales of E15, and prioritizing American fruit and vegetables in federal and institutional purchasing programs.
The longer the government ignores the ag industry’s needs, the more dire the situation will get.
The closure of one American family farm has a domino effect throughout its community, Duvall said.
“Every farm lost takes with it generations of knowledge, community leadership, and the heartbeat of local economies: fewer kids in schools, fewer trucks at the grain elevator, fewer small businesses that keep rural towns alive,” he wrote. “As those farms disappear, so too does America’s food independence: our ability to feed ourselves without relying on foreign supply chains.”