(AFBF) – Forty-eight agriculture groups are calling on Congress to expand USDA’s borrowing authority under the Commodity Credit Corporation. Congress must act to ensure the CCC has the authority and funding to assist farmers and ranchers facing serious cash flow challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.
The letter, addressed to both Senate and House leaders reads, “Farmers, ranchers and the supply chain that support them will not let Americans down during this unprecedented crisis and they are asking the same of you. Millions of producers will need help with cash flow given the rapid and unanticipated decline in commodity prices, the likely closures of ethanol processing plants, the effective elimination of direct-to-consumer sales and decline in full-service restaurant and school meal demand.”
Groups representing food, fuel and fiber signed on to the letter, including the American Farm Bureau Federation. “Farmers and ranchers are proud to be trusted to feed nearly 330 million Americans and we’ll continue working every day to do so, but Congress must ensure the CCC has ample authority and funding to help farmers and ranchers survive during this emergency. The inclusion of these provisions would ensure the Secretary of Agriculture has the tools needed to meet this crisis head-on for all of agriculture.”
Source: American Farm Bureau Federation