At a Senate Agriculture subcommittee hearing, Senator Reverend Warnock laid out his new efforts to support beginning farmers by increasing access to U.S. Department of Agriculture commodity subsidies

The Senator previewed his new legislation, the Southern CROPS Act, which would provide beginning farmers and other eligible producers access to a one-time additional base designation allocation

Senator Reverend Warnock: “[Land with base acres] is expensive and hard to come by, and this is what I had in mind when we put together my legislation to provide underserved commodity farmers, including new and beginning farmers the opportunity to establish or to increase their base acres through my Southern CROPS Act”

WATCH Senator Reverend Warnock at today’s hearing  HERE

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a member of the Senate Agriculture committee, laid out his new effort to support beginning farmers by increasing access to critical U.S. Department of Agriculture subsidies that make it financially easier for new farmers to enter the profession. During a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Commodities, Risk Management and Trade subcommittee, titled “Pathways To Farming: Helping The Next Generation Of Farmers,” the Senator previewed his new legislation, the Southern CROPS Act, which includes a provision that would allow for a one-time additional base designation allocation for beginning farmers and other eligible producers.

“[Land with base acres] is expensive and hard to come by, and this is what I had in mind when we put together my legislation to provide underserved commodity farmers, including new and beginning farmers the opportunity to establish or to increase their base acres through my Southern CROPS Act,” said Senator Reverend Warnock.“This bill would lower the barriers to entry for the next generation of farmers and I was glad to see Chairwoman Stabenow… included my Southern CROPS Act in our Farm Bill reauthorization framework, and will continue to work to see that it’s included in the final Farm Bill. I think when we send our people, we have a chance to get the public policy right.”

The hearing included expert testimony from witnesses Christian Good Owner and Operator of Christian Good Farms in Macon, Mississippi, Tessa Parks, Farmer at W.T. Farms and member of the National Farmers Union from Northfield, Minnesota, Kevin Lussier, Chair of the Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee and member of the American Farm Bureau Federation from Hawthorne, Florida, and Raechel Sattazahn, Director of Industry and Membership Relations at Horizon Farm Credit from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. According to the committee witnesses, one of the largest hurdles for beginning producers is the lack of base acres. Base acres represent the number of acres that are eligible to receive support payments under the Farm Bill’s Title I commodity programs. Because base acres are based on where crops were historically planted, and land with base can be tied up in generational land inheritance or is more expensive to purchase, many beginning producers do not have base acres. Farmers without base acres are at a competitive disadvantage because they are ineligible to receive commodity program payments during times of poor market conditions. Many farmers rely on these federal safety net programs for additional financial cushion, allowing them to withstand the ebbs and flows of competitive markets.

In addition to questioning the witnesses about the importance of base designations, the Senator used the hearing to preview his Southern CROPS Act to help address this base acre access issue. The Senator’s legislation, which is included in the Senate Democrats Farm Bill framework released last month, would provide a one-time opportunity for new and beginning farmers, as well as other eligible farmers, who own or rent farmland to establish or increase base acres if their recent planting history exceeds the total number of base acres currently on the farm. This base acre increase would be capped at 160 acres and would reflect the proportional acreage of planted, covered commodities for the 2018-2022 crop years.

Watch the Senator’s full remarks and line of questioning  HERE.

See below a transcript of key exchanges between Senator Warnock and the expert witnesses:

Senator Warnock: “…the average age of farmers is increasing to 58.1 nationally and Georgia’s a little older than at about 59 [is] the average age. And I’m glad that we’re having this hearing to talk about all the challenges around that. Mr. Good, we all know that farming is a tough job with very slim margins. I spend a lot of time with farmers down in Georgia, and there are many reasons for this. But what role does access to farm safety net programs play in this?”

Christian Good, Owner of Christian Good Farms: “Thank you for that question, Senator. When we look at farming, it’s inherently risky. And we really need to look at having an array of risk management tools… I think crop insurance is vitally important and then I think having a strong base acre and reference prices to make that base acre meaningful is really important. So I think it’s absolutely important, especially for this young generation.”

SW: “I agree. And as you point out, it’s especially difficult for farmers who are starting out, young generations and that’s what we want to see. We want farms where folks are able to pass [their farms] from one generation to the next, we want to see folks who maybe that’s not a part of their family history, but are drawn to the dream of hands in the soil, answering the prayer that many of us pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” I often say farmers are an answer to a prayer. How important is base acres to commodity farmers, and why are they more difficult to obtain?”

CG: “Base acres are really the foundational piece to that Title One, whether it be PLC or Ark, the importance to have a base acre means that you have that price support and you have that protection or that floor beneath you that you can grow off of. So base acres are vitally important for me and my community. Absolutely.”

SW: “[Land with base acres] is expensive and hard to come by, and this is what I had in mind when we put together my legislation to provide underserved commodity farmers, including new and beginning farmers the opportunity to establish or to increase their base acres through my Southern CROPS Act. This bill would lower the barriers to entry for the next generation of farmers and I was glad to see Chairwoman Stabenow… included my Southern CROPS Act in our farm bill reauthorization framework and will continue to work to see that it’s included in the final Farm Bill. I think when we send our people, we have a chance to get the public policy right.”

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