By Rep. Adrian Smith
As Third District farmers round out the fall harvest season, it is an appropriate time to note how hard agriculture producers work to feed and fuel the world and how this drives our state’s economy.
In recent years, farmers and ranchers have battled historically high inflation and input costs, wildfires, unpredictable weather, and disastrous storms. Their hours are as long as daylight allows and sometimes longer. The crops and livestock they care for don’t offer vacation time, respect business hours, or award overtime pay. While many today assume the food they eat simply appears in the grocery store, agriculture producers are the reason we can readily access the nutrition we need. Their tireless efforts keep our most essential supply chains running. They’re the unsung heroes of our nation’s economy, tackling an unending task of feeding hungry consumers around the world.
I continue to support the vital work producers do each day by advocating for a robust Farm Bill renewal which recognizes the importance of certainty to producers as they prepare for 2025. While the Farm Bill expired at the end of last month, current programs will be funded through the end of this year. While one option would be another short-term extension, I believe achieving a comprehensive renewal is vital for the agriculture community. I am encouraged by recent progress in negotiations, as many of my colleagues understand empowering our producers should not be a partisan issue. Finding a path to a full renewal soon is even more urgent as the Department of Agriculture is projecting an agricultural trade deficit of $42.5 billion for this fiscal year—a record high.
Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris administration has refused to negotiate new market-opening agreements and largely been disengaged and ineffective in defending producers from mistreatment by our trading partners. Last month, I worked with bipartisan colleagues to send a letter urging the administration to conduct robust engagement with stakeholders and Mexican leaders as Mexico considers constitutional reforms which compromise its USMCA commitments and could hurt American agricultural producers. Barriers to a healthy bilateral trade relationship, such as Mexico’s ban on American biotech white corn, have been a problem for years and this administration’s lack of urgency in defending the integrity of USMCA has been unacceptable. Lack of enforcement of our agreements, not to mention long-term strategy, undermines rules-based trade and weakens our competitiveness, ultimately putting American corn growers in a precarious position. With the review of USMCA coming in 2026, we should be strengthening, not neglecting, our engagement with one of our closest trading partners.
Our agriculture industry is also vital to American energy abundance, as approximately a third of Nebraska’s corn is used in ethanol production. Decades of biofuels production have made clear: our world-class farmers can meet demand for both food and fuel without jeopardizing the supply of crops for food production.
At a time when agricultural producers are struggling, uncertainty in the energy market is looming, and consumers are paying more at the pumps, the United States cannot afford to leave any opportunity to boost energy production on the table. Since I first introduced legislation to allow the uninterrupted sale of E15, I have been pushing the Environmental Protection Agency to remove unnecessary regulatory burdens on this valuable energy source. Last month, I again introduced bipartisan legislation end temporary waivers and enable the year-round, nationwide sale of ethanol blends up to 15 percent. This legislation is a companion to the effort Senator Fischer has been leading in the Senate. Flexibility and greater consumer choice strengthens the U.S. fuel market, and Nebraska’s farmers have the capacity to meet demand.
Agriculture is the heartbeat of our state, at the core of the American story, and remains critical to our nation’s wellbeing. Yet, the Biden-Harris administration has lost ground in international markets for our agriculture products, put family farms at risk by repeatedly pushing for the repeal of stepped-up basis for capital gains taxation, and placed regulatory burdens on commonsense energy solutions like year-round E15. Agriculture policy coming out of Washington must do better for our hard-working farmers and ranchers. They don’t let us down. We owe them our thanks, respect, and sound policy solutions.