Ag Policy Blog

The National Farmers Union is calling on the Senate Agriculture Committee to enact "urgent and comprehensive reforms to the farm safety net" as senators start their work on the farm bill.

In a letter to the chair and ranking member of the committee, along with the Senate majority and minority leaders, NFU highlighted that its members and rural communities "continue to face significant economic headwinds."

NFU added, "Input costs are rising as commodity prices remain low, squeezing already thin margins."

The letter also points to a 46% rise in farm bankruptcies from 2024 to 2025 and farm debt reaching record high levels.

"The war in Iran adds uncertainty to fertilizer and fuel markets, further elevating the prices of critical inputs," NFU wrote. "At the same time, recent trade disputes have undercut demand for our communities abroad and created significant price volatility, which compounds other economic challenges."

NFU highlighted regions of the country that are experiencing drought as well.

While the House passed a version of the farm bill last month, and the Senate will take up its version, those versions of the farm bill do not focus on major or minor reforms to commodity programs. That's because Congress updated reference prices for the Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage (ARC and PLC) programs last year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Still, Congress, former President Joe Biden and the Trump administration also have provided farmers with a combined $22 billion in ad-hoc assistance since last year under the $10 billion Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) and the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program.

NFU noted farmers have received more than $100 billion in emergency aid and disaster program payments, suggesting "major reforms are necessary to better serve family farmers and ranchers as well as taxpayers."

To make changes, NFU is pitching its own proposal, the Inventory Management Soil Enhancement Tool (IMSET). Under IMSET, farmers would get a premium, or "beneficial price" on their gran commodities for improving the soil health on their farms. For example, based on a South Dakota Farmer Union primer, farmers would receive a 1.5% guaranteed revenue increase for their crops for every 1.5% of acres enrolled in programs that improve soil health. Under the plan, farmers could increase their revenue by as much as 10%.

"IMSET is a voluntary, incentive-based conservation and farm safety net program concept that works alongside existing or future programs," NFU stated.

IMSET would offer an incentive for farmers to enroll in soil health programs in exchange for stronger risk management options, NFU stated.

"This policy concept can address important conservation needs while maintaining fiscal responsibility," the group stated in its letter.

Rob Larew, president of NFU, called for Congress "to act boldly" this year to create a better safety net for farmers.

"Farmers and ranchers are facing a perfect storm," Larew said. "Incremental improvements are not enough. Farmers need a reliable, long-term safety net that keeps pace with rising production costs and reduces the need for repeated emergency bailouts."

He added, "Input costs are rising while commodity prices remain low, leaving many producers operating on razor-thin margins. Without meaningful reforms, we risk losing not only today's family farms, but the next generation of producers who depend on a stable agricultural economy."

There may be pressure on senators to improve the farm safety net, but fiscally that could be a challenge. As DTN reported last week, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., said he expects to release a draft of the farm bill in early June and hold a committee markup later in the month.

The Senate will already be faced with Democrats wanting to undo some of the cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in last year's bill. Also, unlike the House, the Senate will need a bipartisan 60-vote majority to pass its bill.

See, "Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill Expected in June; Won't Include Prop 12 Language," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

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

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