Congress Returns With Work to do For Farmers and Ranchers

Smith: Congress has a lot on its plate with few work weeks remaining this year, including keeping the government fully funded. Ryan Yates, managing director of government affairs with the American Farm Bureau, talks about a couple of the big projects Congress needs to deal with.

Yates: The first issue, and that's government funding. So the fiscal year ends September the 30th, Congress will need to either kick the can to the lame duck session after the election, or they could kick the can until early in the new year. Congress is late to the game when it comes to completing a farm bill. They've already kicked the can once. They failed to get it done last year and continue to fail in finding a path forward.

Smith: He says farmers and ranchers can't afford for Congress to wait to solve these issues.

Yates: Appropriations, federal funding, it's a must do. Everybody knows it has to be done. Continuing to kick the can is a sad state of affairs. When it comes to the farm bill, the world looks a whole lot different in 2024 than it does in 2018. If you look at the state of the economy, the rural economy is in distress.

Smith: Yates says farmers and ranchers are typically good storytellers, and they need to tell that story to their elected officials.

Yates: One of the things that farmers and ranchers can continue to do is reach out, talk to their members of Congress, get to know their staff. Be heard. Congress, I can tell you, they will do nothing if they're not pushed. The only way to get Congress to do anything is to make them uncomfortable. Take advantage of that. Reach out to their offices. Get to know them. Reach out. Be vocal.

Smith: Chad Smith, Washington.