It Is Time for American Consumers and the Ag Sector to Have a New Farm Bill
By Klodette Stroh
We can learn a lot if we study the history of any given topic. For instance, the history of sugar production shows us in 1974 when the U.S. Sugar Act expired, the world price skyrocketed to 60 cents a pound. As a result, American consumers suffered.
When it dropped to three cents a pound, it forced many sugarbeet and cane farmers out of business, but consumers found no savings in their food prices.
To protect taxpayers from sugar prices and the insecurity of supply, in 1981 Congress included a sugar program in the farm bill. It stabilized the price at a reasonable level and assured American consumers and giant sugar users – such as the candy, cereal and soft drink industries – a reliable and high-quality supply of pure natural sugar.
American farmers are one of the most efficient farmers in their practices.
Keeping in mind today’s high cost of production, sugarbeet farmers in irrigated areas spend between $1,300 to $1,400 dollars an acre. Costs of seed, fertilizer, equipment and preparing sugarbeet fields, especially in irrigated states such as Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Colorado, is expensive.
Lawmakers realized importing subsidized and cheap sugar would push American farmers out of business. Having the Farm Bill Sugar Program is necessary to survival of American sugar farmers in an unfair world of global sugar production.
As I recall, the U.S. had to ration its sugar supply in World War II, and it was a hard lesson to learn because we depended on foreign sugar at the time. Soon after these sugar rations, leaders of our country decided to set up a program to prevent the nation’s dependency on foreign sugar.
This event helped give rise to the modern-day sugar industry, which is even more important today as foreign countries eye global sugar supplies to fuel ethanol programs.
Across rural America, farmers are asking Congress to pass a five-year farm bill.
Congress hasn’t updated the farm bill since 2018. Instead, lawmakers have patched together two year-long extensions with no long-term plan to update the farm safety net. These extensions do not address the current economic realities of farming and are leaving rural communities without the vital support they need to survive or the certainty they need to plan for the future.
If Congress does not pass a farm bill to provide a meaningful update to these policies, including U.S. sugar policy, many farmers and sugar companies across the nation will struggle to continue financing their operation.
Unfortunately, some sugar processing facilities are not in operation any longer.
Two years ago, a facility in northeastern Montana closed and the last remaining sugar mill in Texas closed most recently.
California sugarbeet processing will be closing at the end of this year.
This is a wake-up call we cannot allow U.S. sugar policy to be weakened. When these facilities shut down, communities lose jobs, farmers lose a valuable part of their livelihoods and America loses domestic food production.
Tariffs can also negatively impact U.S. sugar by increasing costs for foreign buyers, reducing demand and potentially leading to retaliatory measures from other countries.
Farm production is the backbone of our nation. Commodities are what we use for trade, aid and to keep our citizens nourished and our military strong.
How long can a submarine stay underwater? As long as there is safe food and nourishment for its soldiers. It is due to the efficiency of American farmers our country is strong, healthy and the food basket of the world.
The farm bill has been designed to assist America. Please keep in mind U.S. agriculture must be treated as one, united industry. We have to make sure all producers are treated fairly in the upcoming farm bill.
Klodette Stroh is the national sugar chairman for Women Involved in Farm Economics. She can be reached at strohfarms@tritel.net.
