By Clint Thompson
Farm bill discussions continue and so does the agriculture community’s insistence that a new bill be finalized this year. That was the mindset shared by Gary Adams, president and chief executive officer of the National Cotton Council (NCC).
He spoke at the Georgia Cotton Commission’s mid-year meeting last week in Statesboro and emphasized that a farm bill was needed sooner rather than later.
“I think in terms of where we stand right now, we need people to get together and really talk seriously about what’s a feasible outcome for this year,” Adams said. “Our point has been, we need a farm bill this year. We needed it last year, but we are in desperate need of it this year. If there’s no farm bill, then we’ll have to have some additional type of assistance because simply extending the current farm bill doesn’t work for the industry. It doesn’t give our growers the safety net they need.”
Farm Bill Update
Adams said the House Ag Committee’s proposal, which was passed on a bi-partisan vote, contained most of the cotton industry’s priorities and improved the safety net. They are still waiting for the Senate Ag Committee to fully release its proposal.
“On the Senate side, we’ve seen a framework proposal by Chair (Debbie) Stabenow, and we’ve also seen a framework by Sen. (John) Boozman. I think his will look a lot more like the House Committee. Sen. Stabenauw addresses some priorities but really doesn’t make enough of an improvement in the safety net where we consider to be meaningful,” Adams said.
Education remains at the forefront of Adams’ message to legislators. Farming has changed so much over the last five-plus years, dating back to 2018 when the last farm bill was passed. It’s why an extension of that farm bill doesn’t make sense when modern improvements are needed.
“I think that’s the message we’ve got to convey is, we all know inflation has been there with us for the last couple of years, but when you now look at what’s happening to labor costs, machinery and equipment, interest costs, land costs; all of those things are adding up to where now we’re now talking about $200 more for cotton today than it would have been in 2018,” Adams said. “Unfortunately, prices are not any better than they were in 2018, and yields have not increased much either. All of that is a squeeze on the grower’s bottom line.”