Opinion

RSS

We in agriculture need to confront a painful fact. A noble goal, which many of us have pursued for years, decades and in some cases generations, has for the most part failed. Who among us has not attended an ag-industry meeting over the years and either said, or at least heard, a plea for “agriculture to speak with one voice,” rather than fragment into divisive segments in the face of one challenge or another?

We need water for a variety of uses, but chief among them is to grow food. Seventy-one percent of water consumed globally is poured into crop and livestock production. Yet many agricultural producers live in water-stressed areas and the problem is growing worse.

The USDA proposal to relocate the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Economic Research Service (ERS) out of the nation’s capital and to realign the ERS to report to the Office of the Chief Economist rather than to the Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE) has created an unfortunate conflict between the US Department of Agriculture and the agricultural research community. While I am a retiree and speak only for myself, this is a fight that need not and should not be.

Imagine a single mother working multiple part time jobs, a grandparent living near a city and driving for a ridesharing company, or a widower picking up work on a farm or as a handyman. All of these people are working to support themselves or their family, but many still may be in need of assistance.

Former USDA Secretary Vilsack is right:“You cannot ask farmers to do this on their own. They have the will but not the resources.”

It is known throughout the agriculture industry that what often starts in California, in terms of regulation, always seems to be a slippery slope to follow for the rest of the country.

More than 200 leaders from organic businesses, farms, and ranches of all sizes from all regions of the country are coming to Washington this week with one goal in mind: Repair the organic public-private partnership and halt the bureaucratic foot-dragging that is stymieing this vibrant industry.

While the rest of the country has enjoyed an economic resurgence in recent years, the farm economy has slipped into a recession as global commodity prices precipitously fall.

Almost one year ago, a report was published that highlighted astonishing findings: states were abusing federal loopholes to waive food stamp work requirements for as many able-bodied adults as possible.

NCBA is pleased that USMCA makes no major changes to the market access provisions that have made the U.S. beef and cattle industry a powerhouse in North America. Let’s keep a great thing going.