Bentz Briefing: State of The Farm Economy

Farming businesses are economically upside down. Farm businesses, essential to every American, are being crushed by skyrocketing diesel, fertilizer, labor, equipment, and operating loan prices. Unfortunately for farmers and indirectly for us, rock bottom prices for commodities such as onions, potatoes, wheat, cherries, grapes, beans, and soybeans, to name a few, fall far short of anything close to costs of production.

Why are the sale values of commodities such as these so low? Because tons upon tons of farm product imports, bad tax policy, subsidization of farm production in foreign countries, and increased volume of production here in the United States all combine to drive prices down. What follows is a summary of what we are doing in Congress to address these issues.