WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today delivered the following opening statement at the Committee hearing on Perspectives from the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy, Part 2. In her remarks, Senator Klobuchar addressed challenges farmers are facing, including avian flu and potential tariffs, and the importance of ensuring farmers have the tools they need to thrive. The panel features two Minnesotans, Lori Stevermer, President of the National Pork Producers Council, and John Zimmerman, Chairman of the National Turkey Federation.
A rough transcript of Klobuchar’s full opening statement is available below and a video can be downloaded here.
Senator Klobuchar: Thank you very much, Chair Boozman, and thank you to all our witnesses, including Lori Stevermer, who's here from Minnesota with our pork producers, as well as John Zimmerman from our state with the turkey producers, so we're excited to have them here.
There was bipartisan agreement during our last hearing that our committee should continue to work together to ensure that farmers and consumers have the certainty that they need in a difficult economy.
This means passing a bipartisan Farm Bill that is reflective of the needs of the people of this Nation. It also means tackling today's challenges head-on. Whether they are avian flu, whether they're input costs, whether they're these potential tariffs that I do not agree with, just want to put a footnote on that, or whether they are ensuring that our farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to thrive.
Our witnesses today are going to shed light on the challenges facing our farmers, including those who grow fruits and vegetables, and I really appreciated the words of Chair Boozman about the headwinds that these farmers face. We also are going to focus on those who milk cows, day in and day out, those who raise the high-quality beef, and pork, and poultry that fuels us.
Today's first panel, as noted, is going to focus on specialty crops. And I think instead of calling them “specialty crops,” given that they're everything from potato to asparagus to apples to the chilies from New Mexico, which is way too hot for Minnesota, but I can't wait to try them. We should call them omnipresent crops or crops that really matter to the people of this country.
According to the most recent census of agriculture, there are over 5,000 farms in Senator Smith and my state growing these crops, representing over $3 billion in market value, and that's why the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program is so important.
Other things we can do as we look at the challenges ahead is we can improve crop insurance options for these growers and give them the tools they need to prevent devastating pests and disease outbreaks. And we can protect our investments in critical nutrition programs, allowing Americans to afford more fruits and vegetables.
We must stand with these farmers as they face the workforce shortages, emerging diseases, import pressures that threaten their economic viability, and what the one thing we don't want to do is to make things worse.
Our second panel will focus on our poultry, livestock, and dairy farmers.
Now more than ever, we must support our poultry and livestock producers as their farms are hit by avian flu. This outbreak has impacted more than 160 million birds and nearly 1,000 dairy herds across the country, causing economic hardship for producers and driving up food costs for their families.
I look forward to reading and learning about the proposal set forward by the Secretary of Agriculture today. It was the number one thing I raised with her, and we look forward to reviewing it, and I'm sure we'll always have suggestions.
We must follow the science to build on the existing national testing strategies and support for farmers, engaging with experts to develop new prevention and response methods and a thoughtful vaccine strategy. Any vaccine strategy must be supported by, of course, field trials, a clear plan for outreach and deployment, and proactive engagement with our trading partners to mitigate market disruptions.
This also means keeping nonpartisan experts in the federal government - including veterinarians, animal disease researchers, front-line animal disease responders. My colleagues and I, of course, have pressed when some of these people were laid off. I understand some of them are being rehired, but we just can't mess around with this right now. We must make sure that the USDA has the resources available to respond to this outbreak.
This outbreak also underscores the need to invest in the National Animal Health Lab Network, National Animal Vaccine Bank, and the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program. Senator Cornyn and I established these programs in the 2018 Farm Bill and they were of help during these last outbreaks. But we have to do more.
In addition to giving livestock producers the support they need on their farms, we need to make it easier, not harder, to reach new markets.
The recent proposal to implement sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico, even if delayed 30 days, has already caused chaos in the marketplace and threatens farmers' livelihoods. Our farmers in our state, in particular, stand to suffer from these tariffs. Around a million pigs cross our border with Canada every single year.
On top of that, almost two weeks ago, the President announced new plans to develop reciprocal tariffs on all countries that would go into effect as soon as April. Well, we don't know the details of where and how high these new tariffs would be, we do know that agriculture often bears the brunt of retaliatory tariffs, and this puts more markets in jeopardy as farmers try to plan this year.
The bottom line is that our farmers need certainty: the certainty of a fair playing field and transparent practices for all, the certainty that we are investing in the research and response programs that protect their crops and their flocks, and the certainty in trade policy to continue doing what they do best, feeding and fueling the world.
All of this will be important to keep in mind as we continue the Committee's tasks of passing a bipartisan Farm Bill.
As I've said often, I am so excited to work with Senator Boozman and our team. Excited about our new members, there’s Senator Slotkin at the end of the row, that are on this committee, and Senator Justice, and work together to get a Farm Bill that couldn't be more important.
So thank you very much, Chair Boozman.
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