As harvest season continues, farm families are doing what they do best, producing the safest, most plentiful, most inexpensive food of any country in the world. But they’re doing it without the benefit of a new Farm Bill, the one piece of legislation they depend on the most.

They are now asking Congressional members, "Why won't you pass this bill?"

A letter sent last month to Congressional leaders from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and all 51 state Farm Bureaus, including the territory of Puerto Rico, explains the urgency of passing this legislation, a message they have been saying for months.

A portion of the letter states:

"The ongoing struggles of the agricultural economy have painted a grim reality for many farmers and ranchers – many of whom have thrown in the towel. The most recent Census of Agriculture shows there were 141,733 fewer farms in the U.S. in 2022 than in 2017. The number of acres in production agriculture fell to 880,100,848, a loss of more than 20 million acres from just five years earlier. This should be a major concern for consumers who rely on farmers and ranchers for a stable domestic food supply. To change this trajectory, leaders in Congress must get serious about investing more resources in the farm safety net. It is no fault of hardworking farmers and ranch families that Congress's dysfunction has resulted in a major delay of the farm bill, putting agriculture and our national food security in serious jeopardy."

In an exclusive message to Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) members, AFBF President Zippy Duvall said our farmers need help, and they need it now.

"We appreciated the hard work the House and Senate Ag Committees did this past spring to lay the groundwork for a new, modernized farm bill," he said. "However, it has now been over 120 days since either chamber has had any meaningful progress. We need Congress to put politics aside and do their job. They have done it in the past, and they can do it now. Farmers need a new, modernized farm bill, and we cannot afford for Congress to fail us now."

Kentucky Farm Bureau President Eddie Melton said the time for action has long since gone by and a Farm Bill must get passed before the Congressional clock for this year runs out.

"Farm families are generally some of the most patient people in the world, but our patience is running thin," he said. "I simply can't understand why so many of our government leaders don't see the urgency in getting this bill passed. We're talking about legislation that ultimately affects our nation's food supply, and food security is national security. Thank goodness our state's Congressional leaders understand the importance of agriculture."

An extension for the most current 2018 Farm Bill was passed on September 30, 2023, and, at press time, was scheduled to expire on September 30, 2024.

Many thought another extension would be included in the latest stop-gap spending bill that passed last month. But both House and Senate Ag Committee chairs said "no" to that and now it remains anyone's guess as to whether it can be done by a Congress that won’t convene again until after the November election.

Melton said farm families in this state and across the country deserve to have a comprehensive Farm Bill passed and passed now for a lot of reasons.

 "The devastation from Hurricane Helene has served as a tragic reminder of the importance of a strong, updated agriculture safety net, something the Farm Bill will supply,” he said. “Many farmers across the southeast were just beginning or about to begin harvest season when Helene made landfall. Now, many are facing a total loss."

Melton added that it’s important to keep up our advocacy efforts to let our government leaders know how important this bill is to an industry that produces the nation’s food supply.

“It’s equally important to continually educate a general public far removed from the farm so they will come to realize the urgency of passing a new Farm Bill,” he said.