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House Agriculture Committee frames national ‘farm economy crisis,’ urges swift farm bill action
Summary
Chairman Thompson and witnesses told the House Agriculture Committee that commodity prices and rising input costs have pushed many farm families into crisis, and that ad hoc federal payments cannot substitute for an updated five‑year farm bill.
Chairman Thompson opened the House Committee on Agriculture hearing saying, “A crisis is exactly what hundreds of thousands of farm families are facing as we speak,” and he and witnesses laid out declining commodity returns, persistent high input costs, and the limits of one‑time federal aid.
The panel’s witnesses and members said Congress must update the five‑year farm bill to restore a working safety net. Dr. John Newton, the executive head of Terrain, testified that inflation‑adjusted net cash farm income for many crop farms has fallen roughly 40–45% since 2022 and that ad hoc assistance has been propping up incomes. “We are witnesses to historic volatility in the farm economy,” Newton…
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