HYDE-SMITH EFFORTS SECURE DISASTER, MARKET AID TO FORESTALL FARM CRISIS
Hyde-Smith Votes to Provide Aid to Farmers Stressed by Low Prices, High Input Costs, Dire Financing Outlook
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) early Saturday morning voted for a final agreement that will provide $10 billion in market loss assistance for farmers in Mississippi and around the country who are threatened by economic stresses that threaten the strength of U.S. agriculture.
Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee and Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, welcomed final approval of the aid following difficult negotiations to finalize a funding agreement to avoid a government shutdown and address natural and economic disasters.
“The bottom line is that Congress is finally doing the right thing for America’s farmers and rural Americans. I expect this ad hoc market loss assistance will make a difference for farmers in Mississippi and elsewhere who would otherwise not be able to plant again next year,” Hyde-Smith said.
“This assistance should serve as a lifeline while, with some determination and focus, we can finally enact a new Farm Bill that includes updated safety net programs for our farmers,” Hyde-Smith added. “I look forward to working with incoming Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to ensure swift implementation of the disaster aid, because time is of the essence.”
Hyde-Smith has for months been working with incoming Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.), incoming Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), and others to demand Congress act to approve ad hoc assistance to avoid an imminent economic disaster in rural America.
As of early December, crop economic losses nationally exceeded $31 billion from all major commodities for 2024, including cotton, soybeans, corn, rice, and peanuts. Such losses in Mississippi have averaged $145.04 on more than 3.62 million acres, amounting to at least $525.8 million in losses this year.
Hyde-Smith indicated Mississippi agricultural interests could also benefit from natural disaster relief in the legislation for farmers harmed by natural disasters in 2023 and 2024. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Federal Emergency Management Agency have certified that Mississippi experienced multiple types of natural disasters in this time period, including freezes, tornadoes, severe storms, flooding, high winds, and drought.
Natural disaster funding in the bill includes $357 million for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program, $828 million for the Emergency Conservation Program, and $920 million for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program.
In the months leading up to passage of the agriculture disaster funding agreement, Hyde-Smith met with Mississippi stakeholders, advocated for aid at Senate hearing, and delivered a floor speech explaining to her colleagues why Congress should provide both natural disaster and market loss assistance for farmers across the country or risk worsening a crisis that will cost taxpayers billions of dollars more in the future.
Finally, Hyde-Smith sided with Boozman and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) in signaling their intent to oppose any supplemental spending package that failed to provide meaningful economic assistance to farmers.
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