BY TAMMIE SLOUP
As federal lawmakers jockeyed over a spending bill to keep the government open, Illinois Farm Bureau leaders were on Capitol Hill making known the organization’s national legislative priorities.
And their No. 1 push? Economic relief for Illinois farmers.
Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan, who was in Washington, D.C. last week for American Farm Bureau Federation meetings as well as meetings with lawmakers, said IFB has communicated to legislators that the organization is open to discussions about any creative ways to bring economic relief to farmers.
“Our messaging was that times are very difficult for our members, especially our young farmers, and we’ve seen a large equity drain,” Duncan told FarmWeek and RFD Radio. “We’ve pressed home that we’re two years behind on a farm bill. If we could have had a farm bill with updated reference prices when we were supposed to two years ago, there would be no doubt some of the economic backstop would be triggered. But as it is, here we sit with the 2018 economic backstop, and now we’re looking at 2025 expenses.”
Duncan was joined by IFB Vice President Evan Hultine, IFB Director of National Legislation Ryan Whitehouse and IFB Executive Director of Governmental Affairs and Commodities Kevin Semlow in meetings with U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, and Tammy Duckworth, D-Hoffman Estates.
Along with the messaging on economic relief, the IFB team took the opportunity to lay out priority issues for the upcoming administration, including expanding trade markets and the need for affordable, available and dependable ag labor.
“We are pulling every lever we can pull,” Duncan said. “We also had quite a long conversation with Senator Duckworth about the need to get the 45Z guidance right,” Duncan said. “She’s also pushing hard on year-round E15. To me, it appears a lot of moving pieces here trying to come together at the last minute.”
Duncan, as part of a group of Midwest Farm Bureaus, also had an opportunity to meet with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who was recently named the ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee.
“We went around the room and shared our concerns,” Duncan said. “She’s very knowledgeable on ag issues and very engaging, and talked about her hopes for the future.”
During meetings with lawmakers, Duncan said the IFB team also stressed a farm bill extension should not be a reason to delay farm bill discussions.
“It will be up to us to keep the pressure on getting the bill written, getting the reference prices updated, getting it so that it’s a bill that is good for all agriculture,” Duncan said. “No doubt it’s going to be up to us to make sure that that lift starts sooner rather than later.”
On Wednesday, IFB launched an action request for members to urge Congress to include several provisions in a continuing resolution, including a one-year extension of the farm bill, $10 billion for economic assistance to farmers, year-round permanent E15 sales nationwide and $100 billion for disaster assistance.
In less than 24 hours, members sent more than 2,500 emails to Capitol Hill.
Both senators issued press releases following their visits with IFB, with Durbin noting the group spoke about Illinois as a leading exporter of agricultural products and the risks with foreign retaliation against farm exports as a result of proposed aggressive tariffs.
“I’ll continue to work in the Senate to find consensus that preserves the strength of the food safety-net as well as for farm assistance,” said Durbin, who serves on the Senate Ag Committee.
Duckworth said discussion with IFB centered on expanding biofuels production, increasing agricultural export markets and improving farm safety net programs.
“America has always depended on our nation’s farmers and ranchers to grow the food and fuel we need, and I’m proud to advocate for them on both the national and international stage,” Duckworth said.
Every time Duncan visits with lawmakers, he said he considers the meetings a “privilege.”
“I don’t take the responsibility lightly,” Duncan said, adding, “I think it was a really effective day.”
Content for this story was provided by FarmWeekNow.com.