Farm Credit Publishes Letters to the Editor in Support of Agriculture
“Our Farmers Need Immediate Congressional Support”
America’s farmers are enduring a severe downturn in the agricultural economy, exacerbated by unprecedented weather and natural disasters. They need the support of Congress to continue producing food and fiber to feed the world.
This summer, farms across our territory experienced one of the worst droughts we’ve seen in years. The fall brought one of the most devastating hurricanes Southwest Virginia has endured. As a cooperative, mission-driven lender, Farm Credit of the Virginias will continue leveraging our financial strength to support our customer-owners through this difficult period.
Key to the ongoing agricultural recovery is action by Congress. We ask Congress to work expeditiously to provide emergency funding for agricultural producers recovering from economic and weather-related disasters and to enact a 5-year Farm Bill.
As the CEO of Farm Credit of the Virginias, headquartered in Staunton, Virginia, I witness first-hand the challenges of our producers who face increasingly difficult economic circumstances, intensified by the extreme drought in many areas of our territory and the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene this fall. Low prices for ag products, coupled with high input costs are creating severe losses for many producers. Current conditions are especially difficult for young and beginning producers. All producers need the certainty of a full 5-year farm bill with additional federal investment that reflects today’s market reality. We need Congress to take action to support the next generation of agriculture.
We thank the House and Senate Agriculture Committees for working hard behind the scenes to bring relief to our farmers. As Congress finishes this term in Washington, I urge them to help farmers by acting on the Farm Bill and passing emergency disaster assistance this year.
-Brad Cornelius, CEO, Farm Credit of the Virginias
About Farm Credit of the Virginias
Farm Credit of the Virginias provides over $2.2 billion dollars in financing to nearly 12,000 farmers, agribusinesses and rural homeowners throughout Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland. Farm Credit is a cooperative capitalized largely through investments made by farmers, ranchers and the rural homeowners and businesses that borrow from them. In fact, as part of a nationwide network they are the largest single provider of agricultural credit in the United States and have been for over 100 years. Farm Credit helps maintain and improve the quality of life in rural America and on the farm through its constant commitment to competitive lending, expert financial services and for facilitating and sharing knowledge and resources through the Farm Credit Knowledge Center.