(JAMESTOWN, N.D.) – North Dakota Farmers Union called on Congress to complete the farm bill process after the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee failed to pass a farm bill today.
“Family farmers and ranchers have been advocating to get a farm bill done for three years now. Over that time, economic conditions have worsened, input costs have gone up, and commodity demand has become increasingly uncertain,” said North Dakota Farmers Union President Matt Perdue. “Despite those deepening challenges, farm policy continues to be mired in partisan gridlock.”
Perdue said the draft of the Senate farm bill addresses key priorities for North Dakota family farmers and ranchers. “It authorizes year-round E15 and takes important steps toward addressing the corporate consolidation that is driving up input costs,” he said. “Thanks to a bipartisan amendment, the bill also restores mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef.”
“We appreciate all the work that has gone into this bill. But the plain reality is farm bills don’t pass the U.S. Senate without bipartisan support,” Perdue said. “We urge the Senate Agriculture Committee to find common ground on programs that support our hungry neighbors. The stakes are too high to walk away now.”
NDFU news release
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