Vilsack Commits To Working On Rice Farmer Assistance
USA Rice
WASHINGON, DC -- Today, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee held a hearing on Opportunities and Challenges Facing Farmers, Families, and Rural Communities where Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified and responded to questions on a litany of issues.
Chief among those topics for the rice industry was Ranking Member Senator John Boozman’s (R-AR) question regarding the rice industry’s number one priority – securing assistance for rice farmers who are challenged by flat rice prices with disproportionately and record high input costs.
In his top question to Secretary Vilsack, Senator Boozman said, “Rice farmers and some of our specialty crop growers may lose hundreds of millions of dollars this year due to increased input costs and unlike almost every other commodity, they have stagnant prices. They simply haven’t increased while we have had this enormous increase as we all know with our input costs. I am worried about the future of our domestic rice production and infrastructure it supports, again, and concerned about our specialty crops. Will you commit to working with us to ensure the economic viability of our domestic rice producers and others like specialty crop growers who may be experiencing similar difficulties?”
Secretary Vilsack’s response: “Senator, I hope all of your questions are this easy to answer. Yes.”
According to a recent report published by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University, “the 15 representative rice farms face the largest reduction in net cash farm income per farm ($880,000) and per acre ($442) relative to the other farm types.” Read more about this report in the USA Rice Daily, May 18, 2022.
USA Rice sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Vilsack on February 25, 2022, outlining the unique financial situation impacting the rice industry. Today, USA Rice Farmers Chair Kirk Satterfield sent a follow-up letter to Secretary Vilsack given the recent AFPC report and Secretary Vilsack’s commitment to work with Senator Boozman during today’s hearing.
In part, the letter reads: “Taking into consideration the drop in net farm cash income for 2022, we believe U.S. rice farmers need direct assistance, relative to 2022 plantings, of no less than $400 million in order to weather current conditions.”
The letter continues: “…it is not too late to utilize your existing authorities to provide the critical financial assistance our industry needs to remain viable into the future and give our farmers the tools to support the Biden Administration’s efforts to address global food emergencies now and in the future.”
USA Rice has continued to work with Congress and the Administration to educate Members, staff, and officials on the industry’s financial situation and to garner support for direct producer assistance. While today’s commitment from Secretary Vilsack to work on finding ways to assist rice farmers doesn’t constitute firm assistance, USA Rice will continue our efforts and engage at every opportunity.
“We are very encouraged by Secretary Vilsack’s commitment to work towards providing relief for rice farmers and look forward to continuing our engagement with him and his staff to secure this much-needed assistance,” said Satterfield. “We want to especially thank Senator Boozman for his steadfast leadership and support for our industry during these trying times.”