Rollins Discusses Struggles Farmers Are Facing

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins admits the farm economy is in rough shape but pushed back at last week’s Senate Ag hearing on the extent of farm bankruptcies.  Top Senate Ag Democrat Amy Klobuchar argued farm bankruptcies at 315 last year, were up 46%.  However, Rollins took issue with those numbers.

“The bankruptcies that are reflected in your numbers are about 0.03%, 0.03% of the total farms in our country," Rollins said.  "Now, again, I do not want to sit here and say it’s nothing to worry about.  Every farm is absolutely something we should be fighting to save.”

And as for what are known as ‘Chapter 12’ bankruptcies.

“Chapter 12 doesn’t mean they’re going out of business, it just means they're reorganizing.  But certainly, with the loss of markets, the cost of inputs, there’s no doubt that the farm economy is facing serious headwinds.”

Fertilizer being among the biggest drags on farm income, as Rollins said USDA tries to restart domestic production, starting with the world’s largest ammonium plant in Louisiana.

Rollins has garnered some funding from Commerce and Energy but told Klobuchar that Commodity Credit Corporation emergency funds are tight.  The CCC, replenished annually to its permanent borrowing level of $30 billion, is used mainly for ARC, PLC, Dairy Margin Coverage, CRP, and disaster aid.

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