Senator John Hoeven, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, organized a roundtable meeting in North Dakota with Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux, North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, and local agricultural producers to discuss insights and priorities for the upcoming farm bill.
Hoeven invited Administrator Ducheneaux to North Dakota to ensure that the state's farmers and ranchers have a direct say in shaping the nation's farm policy.
Key points of discussion included:
• Updating and improving the counter-cyclical safety net, encompassing programs like Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). Hoeven emphasized the need for reference prices to align with market realities and current production costs.
• Enhancing livestock disaster programs, including the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), the Livestock Forage Program (LFP), and the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP).
• Modernizing FSA loan limits to reflect production costs and ensure access to adequate credit for farmers.
• Advocating for voluntary and farmer-friendly programs to reduce regulatory burdens on producers.
Senator Hoeven highlighted the importance of maintaining, improving, and fully funding the farm safety net to support farmers and ranchers during challenging times and maintain competitiveness in global markets.
This meeting is part of Senator Hoeven's ongoing efforts to gather feedback from North Dakota's agricultural community and ensure that USDA programs effectively serve the needs of farmers and ranchers.
He is working to:
• Strengthen crop insurance, particularly by allowing producers to select higher coverage levels to better cope with natural disasters.
• Maintain support for U.S. sugar policy.
• Enhance transparency and competition in cattle markets.
• Improve risk management tools available to livestock producers, such as Livestock Risk Protection (LRP), to increase adoption among ranchers.
Senator John Hoeven remains committed to representing the interests of North Dakota's agriculture industry and shaping farm policy that supports its growth and resilience.
Categories: North Dakota, Government & Policy