Farmers Need Significant Federal Help to Survive Drop in Income, Say Senators [Video]

“One in five farmers could be pushed out of business by the sharp drop in farm income this year,” said Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at a Senate hearing on disaster aid, and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman asked how rural America could survive the combination of high production costs and lower commodity prices without “significant help” from the government.

“It’s really dire in farm country right now,” said Boozman, with crop producers suffering in particular, although livestock prices have been stronger than expected. Federal intervention is needed because bankers are becoming reluctant to loan money to growers for 2025 crops, said the senators.

With action on the new farm bill unlikely until the new year and with net farm income falling for the second year in a row, lawmakers from farm states were calling for financial aid from the government as a stopgap measure this year. A House bill, for example, …