Ag Policy Blog

By Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor, and Jerry Hagstrom, DTN Correspondent

OKLAHOMA CITY (DTN) -- As the National Farmers Union began its annual national convention here Sunday evening, NFU President Rob Larew told the members they need to debate policy and come out united in what he described as a period of "looming threats" and "a defining moment."

NFU is a Democratic-leaning organization that generally believes in a strong role for agriculture in government, which makes its political situation particularly difficult when Republicans control the presidency and both houses of Congress.

Larew cautioned that Congress isn't prioritizing passing a farm bill before the latest extension expires at the end of September. "We're going to find ourselves in a situation where Congress kicks the can down the road another year," he said.

Larew described the period after the 2024 election in which about 70% of rural Americans are believed to have voted for President Trump as one of "complicated feelings."

"We are looking at a looming threat" of tariffs, a federal funding freeze and workforce reductions that "make it difficult for farmers to get the research, support and enforcement actions that farmers need," Larew said.

"Many of you here are frustrated, outraged ... want us to take action. Others want a strategic approach -- be steady, be focused. Others see great opportunity to work with an administration with new opportunities," he said.

"None of you are wrong. This is a defining moment," Larew continued. The greatest issue, he said, is not one administration "but divisions among ourselves."

If Farmers Union is not united, he added, "we lose our most powerful tool, collective action."

"We have been in this position before ... but Farmers Union did not divide," he said.

Farmers Union, he said, "debated and fought" to create school lunch, mandatory country of origin labeling for red meat (which was later rescinded due to trade conflicts) and the development of much of the rural health care system."

"We are winning on the right to repair" farm equipment, Larew said, citing court cases, and also "making great progress" in a case against the four largest meat packers.

Larew described the 2024 lame duck session of Congress as one that "put the lame in lame duck" because Congress did not finish the farm bill, but he credited Farmers Union lobbying with the inclusion of farm aid in an end-of-year spending package.

NFU "is strong, resilient and prepared for the future," Larew said, pointing out that the group is planning its annual fly-in May 5 to 9 to be combined with a simultaneous social media campaign from the countryside to urge Congress to aid farmers.

Larew also urged members to bring more young farm families into the organization so that the future of the organization "remains bright."

RECOGNIZING FORMER SENATOR TOM HARKIN

At the group's dinner on Sunday night NFU gave its Meritorious Service Award to former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. A Democrat, Harkin, now 86, was first elected to Congress in 1974. A decade later he was elected to the Senate and served until 2015. He was twice chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee during the 2002 and 2008 farm bills.

Harkin drew a lot of admiration from the NFU crowd. Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen called Harkin his favorite Agriculture Committee Chairman. Harkin later thanked Hansen for crossing the Missouri River to help him campaign for office.

Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman called Harkin "the grandfather of working conservation programs" for creating what became the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). In a video, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Harkin's award is well-deserved.

"Together we fought tooth and nail for the family farmers," Grassley said of their time together.

Harkin also credited some of National Farmers Union's work over the decades as well.

"You look back, they supported women's rights before women had the right to vote," Harkin said. "Civil rights, tall those years, open markets, the environment, public lands, one of the strongest proponents for an active school lunch program after World War Two. Something that didn't talk about too much, the Food for Peace program."

Harkin talked about early plans in Congress to try to change farm programs to phase down farm-program payments for larger farmers.

"One of the things that always bothered me about farm programs was the way they were engineered. The bigger you are, the more you get, and the more you get, the bigger you can get, the more land you can buy and bid up the price of land," he said.

The Conservation Stewardship Program began over a battle with Europe about farm program payments. The European Union always had higher subsidy levels, but they were classified as "green payments" under the World Trade Organization. Harkin and others spent more time looking at the EU payment system.

"They were paying their farmers not on how much they grew or what they group, but they were paying farmers for how they grow," Hargin said. "They were taking care of the soil and the water on working lands."

Originally called the Conservation Security Program, they changed the name in 2008. CSP is now the largest conservation program by acreage at 69 million acres. Harkin noted the 2018 farm bill led to cutting back the acreage from 76 million. He called on NFU to help keep the program going.

"My request to the National Farmers Union is work again on this farm bill to restore that funding and to keep the Conservation Stewardship Program Vibrant, because right now, only 30% of applicants are approved," he said. "So the desire is there, farmers are doing a great job of conservation on working lands. Right now, my whole goal was to have at least minimum of 60% to 70% approval, and on the five year every five years, you can renew it 100% So my request to Farmers Union is to fight like hell to keep this going."

Harkin also called on NFU to defend the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program in schools. He started the program as a pilot in 2002 and it was expanded in the 2008 farm bill. But right now only about 40% of eligible schools participate in the program.

"I always believed if you start kids out eating things like that, then they grow up liking fruits and vegetables more," he said. "And ever since we started that program, we have shown through data that their families buy more fresh fruits and vegetables when they go to the grocery store."

Harkin also said he believes the U.S. needs to continue moving towards more electric vehicles. He pointed out China has more than 3 million public charging stations while the U.S. has 65,000 and the Trump administration is rolling back plans for more. When it comes to biofuels, Harkin said his view is counterintuitive, but he said he believe it's better to use biofuels to help burn for electric turbines for the recharging stations.

"It's much more efficient. Why? Because an electric motor is that much more efficient than an internal combustion engine. So biofuels can still be supportive of this, in a way of running our power plants, just as we do with coal or oil or natural gas. This may sound a little strange to a lot of people who, like, I have always thought of biofuels as putting it in your gas tank. Maybe that's not the answer. Maybe the answer, of course, is also to look for other kinds of renewable crops, but use it in a different way."

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jhagstrom@nationaljournal.com

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Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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