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Sen. Roger Marshall urges more CFTC outreach to help farmers manage price risk
Summary
At the CFTC ADcon conference in Kansas City, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission provides vital price discovery and market integrity for producers, urged more local education on futures, and said higher interest rates—not futures markets—are the main threat to farm viability.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told attendees at the Commodity Futures Trading Commissions ADcon conference that the agencys work on commodity markets is central to farmers' ability to manage risk and access capital. Marshall, who described himself as a "fifth-generation farm kid," said the CFTC gives producers "price discovery" and tools to hedge price risk, but that only a minority of Kansas farmers use those tools.
Marshall said the bigger immediate threat to producers is high interest rates, which have inflated borrowing costs for a typical $1 million operational loan from around 2% to about 8% in recent years, wiping out much farm profit. "If we don't have lower interest rates, that's killing my farmers," he said.
The senator urged expanded local outreach by the CFTC and related institutions so that community bankers, co-ops and extension agents can explain how futures, crop insurance and commodity programs work together to manage risk. He suggested bringing CFTC staff to co-op meetings and giving county extension agents clearer materials to answer producers' questions.
Marshall also raised public-health concerns for rural communities, asking the audience to be alert to mental-health stressors for farmers and pointing listeners to crisis resources such as the 988 line. He framed food production as national security and said better education would help more producers use derivatives for risk management.
Whats next: Marshall fielded audience questions on the farm bills crop-insurance funding needs and trade issues. He said the farm bill remains stalled in Washington and that negotiators are trying to find additional funding for crop insurance amid higher input costs.
