Agriculture has always depended on support from both sides of the aisle, and now that the midterm elections are over, the American Soybean Association expects that longstanding bipartisan cooperation to be renewed. ASA reiterates its request for the now lame-duck 115th Congress to pass a new five-year bill that can provide greater certainty and long-term stability during a down farm economy and time of trade strife. It is also important to reaffirm our commitment to conservation practices, invest in agricultural research and work to expand new markets for soybeans.

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 “The Farm Bill is our greatest risk management tool. With the economic challenges facing all farmers today, tools such as crop insurance, as well as ARC & PLC, are invaluable,”said John Heisdorffer, ASA president and soybean grower from Keota, Iowa. “In addition to support from farm programs, funding for the Foreign Market Development program and Market Access Program is needed. FMD funding has already lapsed, and MAP funding will run out at year’s end. These programs are critical to the soybean industry, particularly with the need to open and expand markets to offset sales lost to China.”

“We look forward to working with the new Congress to strengthen agriculture by fixing the ag labor problems we face, boosting our farm economy via export growth and reducing the burden and cost of federal regulations. Supporting the use of farm-grown fuels, fixing our nation’s broken infrastructure, supporting agricultural research, and bridging the broadband gap that hurts rural America are also important for a strong agriculture. We hope that the newly elected leaders across the nation will join us in unifying behind these goals," said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. “It is clear that rural voters turned out for this election and we are proud of them. We stand ready to work with this wave of elected leaders who will stand up for farmers and ranchers and our ability to feed our nation.”

Source: ASA, AFBF