LEGISLATIVE SESSION--American Agriculture
Congressional Record Vol. 171, No. 170
(Senate - October 15, 2025) PDF
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
American Agriculture
Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to highlight a growing
crisis that threatens our farmers, rural communities, food security,
and our national economy. I am concerned that as American agriculture
and rural communities face very hard times, many Americans are unaware
of the stakes ahead.
Here is the bottom line. American agriculture is in serious trouble,
and Congress must act now with short-term assistance.
That is not hyperbole. I continue to hear from producers in
Mississippi and across the country that the numbers don't add up and
the outlook is grim. Without immediate action, we risk losing not only
farms but also the rural communities and the food security they
provide. This is no longer a warning; it is an emergency.
Over the past three crop years, rising input costs for seed,
fertilizer, fuel, labor, and more have collided with falling commodity
prices and high interest rates. Even with strong crop yields this year,
many farmers are facing losing between $100 and $400 per acre. For a
2,000-acre farm, that is a financial hit in the hundreds of thousands
and sometimes millions of dollars in losses. Farm bankruptcies have
already surpassed last year's total, and if we do not step in, that
trend will accelerate.
The ripple effect is real. In small towns across America, family
farms are the economic engine. When farms thrive, so do local grocery
stores, schools, equipment dealers, banks, and churches. When farms
fail, the community fails with them. Jobs disappear. Families leave.
Main Street goes silent.
We have seen this before. In the 1980s, a generation of farmers was
nearly wiped out by high interest rates, collapsing markets, and
inadequate safety nets. Today's producers are starting to feel those
same pressures. Bankers, economists, and lenders are sounding the alarm
again.
While we may differ on policy, we must agree on the urgent need to
act while we still have time to do that. The significant updates we
secured in the reconciliation process this summer will strengthen the
farm safety net, and I am proud of that progress. But those changes
won't take effect until next fall. That is too late for many farmers
already on the brink. We need short-term assistance now to help
producers survive the coming crop year.
Let me be crystal clear: Farmers do not want a handout; they want a
fair shot.
Food security is national security. We cannot afford to lose a
generation of American farmers or become dependent on foreign countries
to feed and clothe us. That is a risk that we cannot take.
Over the long term, we know American agriculture will be stronger if
we secure fairer trade deals and build stable markets at home and
abroad.
Our competitors--China, Argentina, Brazil, and others--are moving
aggressively. I believe that if we don't act quickly, we will lose
vital export opportunities and long-term stability for our producers.
In this world of global competition, we must revive American-grown
cotton to be the center of our supply chains, providing reliable
markets for our producers and bolstering industries that depend on
cotton.
I introduced the Buying American Cotton Act to help us get there by
incentivizing U.S. retailers to produce, purchase, and manufacture
American cotton here at home. This legislation would help secure a
resilient, self-reliant, and prosperous cotton industry for the future
by reinforcing our supply chain--from farm to textile, to market--and
by reducing our reliance on cotton produced under forced labor
practices and environmental destruction.
I call on this body to consider this legislation as we seek long-term
solutions to the problems that beset American farmers today.
I am encouraged by the bipartisan work underway to complete a 5-year
reauthorization of the farm bill, which is long overdue.
Last winter, we secured farm support funding, which was a lifeline
for many of our farmers this crop year, but the crisis hasn't passed.
Farmers are still facing impossible choices about whether they can
afford to plant next year or even to stay in business at all. I fully
support ongoing work to provide additional Federal bridge funding
before the end of the year to ensure more of our family farms can stay
in business.
We all represent different sectors of American agriculture, but the
crisis does not discriminate. It spans commodities, regions, and party
lines. What matters now is that we come together with urgency and with
purpose.
Our farmers are counting on us. It is time for Congress to meet the
moment before it is too late.