Johnson: Fly-In A Time For Meaningful Solutions

Nearly 400 National Farmers Union members are in Washington, D.C. this week as part of NFU’s annual fly-in.  Amid another year of uncertain economic conditions, farmers will meet face-to-face with members of Congress and administration officials to advocate for stronger food and agricultural policy.  NFU President Roger Johnson said farmers are struggling right now.

“For several years, farm commodity prices have been below the cost of production, which means that most farmers are selling at a loss and are rapidly losing equity. At the same time, a recent wave of agribusiness megamergers has pushed up input costs. Many producers have been forced to take out more loans just to keep their doors open, causing farm debt to balloon to record levels.

Johnson says the trade war, now in its second year, has made an already bad situation worse.  And he added climate change has thrown weather patterns out of whack, making it that much more difficult to grow crops and raise livestock.

Johnson said during the fly-in, they will sit-down with lawmakers from both parties, discussing ways to strengthen the farm safety net, reduce chronic overproduction, and much more.

“Given the current circumstances, it is more important than ever that legislators hear directly from family farmers and ranchers about the issues they’re dealing with. “NFU members want Congress to understand the financial and environmental realities of modern agriculture, and they want to provide recommendations for what meaningful solutions look like.”

The three-day fly-in wraps up Wednesday.

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