Farm Bill Listening Session Features Sen. Sherrod Brown

Ohio Farmers Union Event to Hear from Farmers, Provide Farm Bill Brief

As Congressional committees begin prepping for the 2018 Farm Bill, the Ohio Farmers Union and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown will hold a listening session and briefing in Fremont on August 29.

The event will be held at Terra State Community College, 2830 Napoleon Rd., Fremont, OH 43420. It will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and attendees will be provided lunch. The event is open to the public but will he geared to farmers. Those who will be attending are asked to RSVP by calling OFU’s state office at 800-321-3671.

“Commodity prices have plummeted over the past four years and forecasts indicate this is a trend that will last into the foreseeable future,” said OFU President Joe Logan.

“It’s essential that despite the current dysfunction in Washington, Congress crafts a reasonable, responsible Farm Bill that provides a strong safety net.”

Logan said that the National Farmers Union is working with state organizations around the country to hold regional listening sessions where family farmers may come and share thoughts on what’s working and not working with current Farm Bill programs like Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC).

Comments from farmers around the country are being compiled and will become part of NFU’s lobbying efforts on behalf of family farmers with respect to the Farm Bill.

The first part of the four-hour event will be devoted to taking unfiltered comments from producers. Notes will be taken and these comments along with comments from a similar meeting to be held in southern Ohio in September will be compiled into a report from Ohio to NFU legislative staff.

Farmers will then get a briefing from NFU on the current state of the Farm Bill process. Dr. Harwood Schaffer, director of the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center at the University of Tennessee, will speak about potential alternatives to ARC and PLC. Brown, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture will close out the program with comments and take questions.
“Farmers cannot control the weather and we don’t control markets,” Logan said.

“The Farm Bill and a reasonable safety net for producers is a vital part of our ability to continue to feed Ohio and the world – and it’s not too early for Ohio farmers to be heard on the next one,” Logan said.