Restoring certainty to America’s farmers

When we talk with farmers across the country, from cotton fields in Mississippi and cornfields in Iowa to apple orchards in Washington, the theme is the same: uncertainty.

The past few years have tested even the most seasoned farmers. Facing rising input costs, unpredictable market access and many other challenges, farmers and ranchers are working harder while margins grow thinner.

The United States has long prided itself on being able to feed itself and much of the world. But today, that foundation is fracturing.

Across the countryside, farms that once anchored rural economies are evaluating how and if they can survive another growing year with immense uncertainty. Not because of Mother Nature, but because prices no longer cover the cost of production.

As farmers shutter their barns, there are fewer kids in rural schools, fewer dollars spent on rural Main Street and fewer families carrying forward a multigenerational ...