Louisiana Farms Face Multiple Years of Losses, LFBF Sends Letter to Delegation Expressing Need for a New Farm Bill Now

By Avery J. Davidson

Louisiana Farm Bureau News

Louisiana farms are facing another year of losses in 2024, according to the LSU AgCenter. Those losses would continue in 2025 if Congress does not pass a new Farm Bill this year.

Ag Economist Michael Deliberto, Ph.D. reported those findings in a white paper provided to the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. Deliberto used hypothetical farms for his analysis. One is a 1,500-acre corn and soybean farm in Northeast Louisiana. Another other is a 2,000-acre corn, cotton and soybean farm in Northeast Louisiana.

Deliberto calculated with current commodity prices, production costs and price supports, the 1,500-acre farm would end 2024 with $306,097.50 in losses. The 2,000-acre farm would fare considerably worse with a balance sheet ending in 2024 with $564,482.50 in losses.

A hypothetical 1,000-acre rice farm in Southwest Louisiana would see losses ranging from $23,200 to $61,480 in 2024, depending upon whether the grower harvested a ratoon, or second, crop, according to Deliberto.

2025 would be even worse for that 2,000-acre farm if Congress does not pass a new Farm Bill with an updated safety net, according to Deliberto. Under that scenario, Deliberto predicts that farm would see losses of $575,878.78, which would be a fourth straight year of losses. The 1,500-farm would also see losses of $270,601.50, which is not as severe as in 2024, but would also mark the fourth straight year of losses. The rice farm would see losses ranging from $34,739.49 to $65,995.34 in 2025.

Louisiana Farm Bureau President Richard Fontenot responded to these grave predictions by sending a letter to Louisiana’s congressional delegation urging them to pass a new Farm Bill this year and consider immediate supplemental financial assistance before farmers and ranchers are forced out of business.

“As small business owners, we as farmers rely heavily on financing and lending institutions to understand the unique challenges of our businesses, the cyclical nature of agriculture markets, and the risks associated with trying to harness mother nature and global markets to make a living,” Fontenot wrote. “The Farm Bill has historically been the great mediator in these risks, giving agriculture the tools to have the assets necessary to feed the world. It provides both the farmer and the lender with a safety net to continue operating in such a volatile business.”

Congress has had two years to write and pass a new Farm Bill. The extension of the 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2024.

“A simple extension of a Farm Bill will do very little to bridge what is now a very wide gap between what our lenders can offer and what farmers can accomplish financially,” Fontenot continued. “Costs of production have risen dramatically since 2018, while most commodity prices have stayed stagnant or, most recently, significantly declined We are at a breaking point for many family farms. Due to the lack of a Farm Bill to mitigate these challenges, supplemental assistance will now be necessary to keep a large portion of farmers in business to even utilize the next Farm Bill’s protections.”

Fontenot is asking Louisiana residents reach out to their members of Congress to urge them to pass a new Farm Bill this year, before it’s too late. Louisiana Farm Bureau has created a website where sending that message is as easy as a few clicks: https://lafarmbureau.org/farmbill-1

Read Fontenot’s letter here. 

Read Michael Deliberto’s white paper here.