WASHINGTON – House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Chairman Filemon Vela of Texas delivered the following opening statement during Thursday’s subcommittee hearing on the state of the farm economy. These remarks are Chairman Vela’s as prepared for delivery.

“Good morning and thank you for joining us as we look into this critical aspect of our economy. Every one of us seated up here has heard from farmers in our districts about the bad farm economy. Commodity prices are low, input costs are rising, and financial pressure is mounting on farmers across the country.

While we hear so much about the booming state of the overall economy, our rural and farm economy continues to struggle. You cannot have a successful national economy when such a vital component hurts the way our farmers are currently.

The numbers paint a rough picture: USDA forecasts net farm income level for 2019 to be only 77 percent of the annual average for 2000 through 2017. It’s down 50 percent from 2013 alone. Inflation-adjusted farm debt is the highest it has been since 1980 and the debt-to-asset ratio for farmers is rising steadily.

This hearing offers a glimpse into how the economy has affected four particular farms in different parts of the country. These are four stories about what the downturn in the farm economy means to them.

The 2018 Farm Bill provided certainty for farmers by reauthorizing commodity programs and continuing crop insurance. The farm economy is better off because the farm bill passed, but is that enough to fix the downturn in the ag economy?

In agriculture policy circles, we’re always hearing about the 1980s. ‘Is the farm economy just as bad as the 1980s?’ That’s what we’re here to find out.

We should not stand down just because the economic indicators today don’t look exactly like the run-up to the 1980s. We’re here to consider what can still be done to help struggling farmers and truly make this an economy that works for everyone.

Thank you to the witnesses today for sharing their perspectives, and I look forward to their testimony.”