Sheep Industry News February 2024

Farm Bill Discussion Opens Convention KYLE PARTAIN S taffers from ag committees in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives attended the Opening Session of the ASI Annual Convention to assure sheep producers of their commitment to not only passing a new Farm Bill, but to addressing industry concerns in the process. – that production costs and many other matters are weighing on your bottom line. We are sincerely looking at ways to address that in the Farm Bill.” Another area where there’s room for dramatic improvement is the safety net programs that help American farmers and ranchers weather storms from one year to the next.

“We have not addressed the farm safety net in roughly 20 years,” Benavidez said. “And it certainly lags behind what we believe a modern safety net should look like.”

“Wool Marketing Assistance Loan rates have not kept up with parity and with many of our other commodity programs, and we

do hope to address that,” said Justin Benavi dez, who serves as the chief economist for the House Committee on Agriculture. “The loan rates were not adjusted in the 2018 Farm Bill. We do believe we’re going to be able to find ways to increase that marketing system loan rate. It’s not a terribly expensive ask in the Farm Bill.” Benavidez offered hope for spending increases in a variety of areas: including the Sheep Production and Marketing Grant Pro gram that funds the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center. In 2019, the Agricultural Marketing Service awarded a five-year grant of $1.9 million to the sheep center, which funds a handful of industry grants each year. Other areas where additional spend ing would be warranted include: the Wool Research, Development and Promotion Trust

Now the question is, will a new Farm Bill get passed? And, if so, when might it occur. “As of January, I’m more positive that we will have a Farm Bill this year than I was even in December,” Benavidez said. Trey Forsyth is a professional staffer with the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and said the focus of Ranking Member Sen. John Boozman is to pass the Farm Bill. But his main goal is to pass a bill that will actually help farmers and ranchers. “A bipartisan bill is the only way to get it passed in the Senate,” Forsyth said. “Just ex tending the 2018 Farm Bill another five years isn’t going to cut it. That’s one thing that’s been clear from Sen. Boozman’s listening sessions. The world has changed a lot since 2018. We need a farm safety net that is responsive to

Justin Benavidez, Chief Economist House Committee on Agriculture

Fund that provides U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for ASI and its efforts to market American wool; and funds for the Foreign Market Development and Market Access Program, both of which assist ag groups in developing foreign markets for American agriculture products. Benavidez said money spent on agriculture has proven to be a sound investment for the federal government. “For a little less than $30 billion a year, agriculture delivers 43 million jobs, $2.3 trillion in wages, $189 million in exports and creates $7.4 trillion in output,” he said. “For every dollar we invest in traditional farm programs, you all contribute roughly $24 back to the federal government. I would defy any member of Congress to come back and tell us that there’s a higher return on invest ment delivered on any other investment in the federal budget.” At the same time, he said members of Congress and the federal government realize many in agriculture have struggled recently. “Circumstances are getting better for the sheep industry,” he said. “But we know in this room – and we’ve heard you in D.C.

those changes.” Among the priorities for Boozman are increased spending on ag research, conservation programs, food security and protecting against foreign disease outbreaks, Forsyth said. He predicted the Farm Bill might move sometime between March and July. But the longer the process drags out – and the closer it gets to the fall presidential election – the tougher it will be to get the bill passed. USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Pro grams Jenny Lester Moffitt was also on hand for the Opening Session. She addressed the crowd on many of the same issues covered in the Farm Bill discussion, touting the Biden Adminis tration’s support of agriculture. That included the climate-smart grants – one of which was awarded to a group of applicants work ing with sheep and wool – as well as the work of Wildlife Services and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. “It’s a pleasure to be here,” she said. “I really appreciate ASI’s strong partnership with us all along the way.”

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