Rick Scott Leads Senate Aging Committee Hearing About Family Farms And The Agricultural Workforce

Forbes Breaking News

The Senate Aging Committee held a hearing entitled, "The Aging Farm Workforce: America’s Vanishing Family Farms."

Transcript

00:00:00Today we are gathered to discuss a very pressing issue, not just for aging

00:00:04community, but for our country. The U.S. is the breadbasket of the world, thanks

00:00:09largely to family farms. Unfortunately, the farming and agricultural

00:00:13workforce is aging and nearing retirement, and fewer and fewer young

00:00:17people are looking to take over their families' farms or enter the agriculture

00:00:21industry. With more farmers leaving the field and not having someone to pass

00:00:24their land and legacy on to, we face significant challenges to agricultural

00:00:28production, rural community sustainability, and U.S. food security. Here's why this

00:00:34matters. U.S. food security is national security. American farmers are the

00:00:39nation's oldest workforce, averaging 58 years. One-third of farmers and ranchers

00:00:45are over the age of 65. In my home state of Florida, that number is even higher,

00:00:49accounting for roughly 40 percent of all farmers. This group of aging farmers owns

00:00:56over 40 percent of U.S. farmland. And with more farmers retiring and fewer

00:01:00children looking to take over farms for their families, these farms and their

00:01:04legacies are at risk. The U.S. has lost more than 200,000 farms since 2007. That's 40

00:01:12million acres of land being repurposed for commercial, residential, or industrial

00:01:17development. And 40 million acres of land that are no longer producing food and

00:01:21agricultural products in and for the United States. There are many factors that

00:01:26contribute to this loss. Most farmers aren't looking to sell land to a

00:01:30developer. They'd prefer to keep their family farm functional and to pass their

00:01:35hard-tilled land on to someone who can continue their legacy in service to the

00:01:39community. But more and more young people are turning away from their jobs in

00:01:43farming and agriculture, due largely to the increased cost of farming, which is

00:01:48especially difficult for small farmers and those just starting out. This next

00:01:52generation of farmers are facing increased regulatory burdens and

00:01:55operating costs. The national price for farmland has increased over seven

00:02:00percent in three years, averaging four thousand dollars an acre. Over 80 percent

00:02:04of farmers work a second job. Farmers face many challenges, from natural

00:02:09disasters to inflation. Rising input costs, especially high energy costs, make

00:02:14continuing in the family business less attractive to younger generations. This

00:02:19is also true when accounting for death, property, and inheritance taxes that can

00:02:23take, that can make taking over a family farm overwhelming. New farmers face these

00:02:28even steeper obstacles, including access to land. An older farmer, as older farmers

00:02:34retire, foreign and adversarial entities like communist China look to gain a

00:02:38stronger foothold in the U.S. agriculture sector by buying their land. At this

00:02:43point, China owns more than 350,000 acres of farmland across 27 states. That is not

00:02:50an acceptable threat. American farmers also must deal with unfair trade

00:02:54practices, undercutting their product on an international level. Congress has not

00:02:59always done right by our farmers. The major legislative package aimed at supporting

00:03:03farmers and agricultural workers the Farm Bill hasn't passed since 2018. This is

00:03:08especially harmful for farmers who have suffered with rising prices for the last

00:03:12four years under the last administration. While President Trump is

00:03:16having success in bringing down prices and fighting to support American farmers, he

00:03:20needs Congress to act as well. And passing a good Farm Bill is the right place to

00:03:24start. Otherwise, we will continue to use outdated information which compounds the

00:03:29harm done by other economic and regulatory factors. As a result, the burden increases on

00:03:35our aging farmers who want nothing more than to see their farm continue in

00:03:38trustworthy hands, but to find it harder and hard to find someone to carry on their

00:03:43legacy. The aging farm workforce and the lost family farms present a critical

00:03:48challenge to the sustainability of American agriculture. During this hearing, I hope to

00:03:53hear from our witnesses how we can better protect the heritage of our aging farmers and

00:03:57better secure the handover farms to the next generation. We owe it to our retiring

00:04:02farm workforce to ensure the legacy can be continued on ensuring our food supply

00:04:07ensuring up the security of our nation. Now I'd like to recognize ranking member

00:04:11Gillibrand for opening statement. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As we all know, our farm

00:04:17workforce is aging. On average, our nation's farmers are older now than they were when the last census of

00:04:24agriculture was conducted in 2017. Because of financial stress, many farmers who would otherwise

00:04:31retire have had to keep on working. Some farmers have faced pressure to sell their farms to other

00:04:36owners if their family doesn't want to continue operations. Meanwhile, a lack of training and rural

00:04:42local amenities like broadband and child care have made farming less appealing to younger families.

00:04:52Our farmers provide an accessible and abundant supply of food to our whole nation. But with increased

00:04:58consolidation and more farmlands being converted to non-agricultural uses, we are sending ourselves down a

00:05:05very risky path. Our duty in Congress should be to support our farmers whatever way we can. With a changing

00:05:14climate, raising prices, rising prices, volatile markets, our farmers are facing many challenges that make

00:05:21success even harder. One of the most important things we can do to pass a robust and bipartisan farm bill that

00:05:29addresses the needs of the agricultural community as well as nutrition and conservation needs. To encourage

00:05:37younger generation to returning to farmer farming, we must invest in our rural communities. New and

00:05:43beginning farmers and young people who are returning to their family farm do not only consider the income that

00:05:50is tied to farming, they need to be able to access broadband and child care and health care. We need to

00:05:57make sure that there is enough mental health, mental health support at a time when we see more farmers

00:06:06dying by succumbing to suicide. I have to say that the anxiety and stress caused by the fluctuating tariffs

00:06:14that we are currently seeing hasn't helped. Our farmers need consistent policy to make long-term planting and

00:06:23investment decisions. They need reliability from Congress in an unpredictable profession. Approximately 20%

00:06:31of our agriculture is exported and farmers rely on those markets to make a profit. I look forward to a

00:06:38positive and productive conversation today to discuss ways we can support our aging farmers while making sure

00:06:45new and beginning farmers continue to enter the farm workforce. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you,

00:06:51ranking member Gillibrand. I'd now like to welcome our witnesses here today, all of whom bring important

00:06:57perspectives on the challenges facing the aging workforce that we see in American agriculture. First,

00:07:03I'm proud to welcome someone who spent his life fighting for our farmers, Mr. Zippy Duvall, President of the

00:07:08American Farm Bureau Federation. Mr. Duvall is not only a national leader in agriculture, he's also a third

00:07:14generation farmer from Georgia who understands firsthand the pressures our family farms are facing. He knows what it

00:07:21means to work the land, raise a family in agriculture, and build something to pass on to the next

00:07:25generation. Mr. Duvall, thank you for being here. Thank you for your service to our nation's farmers

00:07:29and ranchers. You may begin your testimony. Well, thank you, Chairman Scott, and thank you,

00:07:35ranking member Gillibrand. We appreciate the opportunity to be able to testify here today in front of you and

00:07:42your committee. I am Zippy Duvall, and I am a third generation Georgia farmer, and I am president of American Farm Bureau, who

00:07:49represents farm families from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and I'm fortunate to have followed

00:07:55my father and my grandfather in their footsteps on our family farm. Today, my son, who is a veterinarian to

00:08:02help support his habit of farming, we operate a beef cow farm. We raise broilers there on our farm, and we also

00:08:10have spent our lifetime restoring the land that has been in our family for over 90 years. As I travel the

00:08:18country and see farms across our great country, I see a lot of gray hair, and while the wisdom of

00:08:24older generations is critical, we must ensure that we make a way for young and beginning farmers to

00:08:30fill our boots. As this committee has identified, there are many challenges facing the agriculture

00:08:37communities, but there's also opportunities for Congress to support young and beginning farmers,

00:08:43including and starting with a new farm bill. As I shared with the Senate Agriculture Committee

00:08:50earlier this year, we need a modernized five-year farm bill. Farmers and ranchers have faced unprecedented

00:08:57volatility since the 2018 farm bill was put into place, making it harder for many of our farmers to

00:09:04hold on. The 2022 census showed the loss of over 141,000 farms in five years. That's an average of 77 farms

00:09:16per day that we've lost. With rising interest rates, higher energy prices, supply costs that has gone

00:09:25unchecked, farmers will plant the most expensive crop ever planted this year, and many have faced a tough

00:09:32decision of whether or not to even plant that crop. This is why the farm bill and Title I safety net is so

00:09:39critical. Despite skyrocketing costs, the 2024 payments to farmers are projected to be the lowest since 1982.

00:09:52Additionally, farm debt is expected to increase in 2025 to more than $560 billion.

00:09:59Our members support streamlining farm loan programs to meet the evolving needs of farmers and ranchers,

00:10:07and to make agriculture more accessible to young and beginning farmers.

00:10:13We are proud of Secretary Rollins for establishing a small family farm policy agenda, and it highlights the

00:10:23need to reform loan programs to streamline the delivery and increase the program efficiency.

00:10:29Adding to the uncertainty that farmers and ranchers and many other small businesses are facing is the

00:10:34possibility of the largest tax increase in American history. One provision that is critical to keeping

00:10:41family farms going to the next generation is the increase of estate tax exemption. If the exemption level

00:10:49reverts backwards, many families will risk losing their farm. The Farm Bureau was pleased to see the

00:10:56progress made with the House passage of the reconciliation package, and we urge the Senate to join to ensure

00:11:03America's farmers and ranchers can continue to provide the food, fuel, fiber that our country needs.

00:11:09Of course, we cannot paint the full picture on this issue without talking about our employees. Many of us,

00:11:19many of those employees are like family to us, and they are aging right alongside of us.

00:11:27That's a problem because most Americans, they aren't interested in working on our farms anymore, and they're not

00:11:33interested in coming back to the farm. Despite the big investments that we're making in recruiting,

00:11:39people to come back to the farm. Congress needs to recognize that farm workers as an essential

00:11:46to feeding and fueling our country. It's time to modernize our outdated system, and only Congress

00:11:54can meaningfully do that. Our country, a country that cannot feed its people is not a secure country.

00:12:02In order to meet the growing demand of food, fiber, and renewable fuel at home and abroad, we must ensure that

00:12:09continued strength of our farms and ranchers and our communities. I want to thank the chairman for

00:12:15holding this hearing today, and I look forward to working with you to support the next generation of

00:12:20farmers, and I'd be happy to answer any questions the committee might have.

00:12:23Thank you, Mr. Duvall. Next, we'll please welcome Jim Alderman, owner of Alderman Farms in Palm Beach

00:12:31County, Florida. Mr. Alderman has been farming since 1979, growing a wide variety of organic

00:12:37vegetables and managing a cow-calf operation. He was recently named the 2025 Florida Farm Bureau

00:12:42Farmer of the Year, a well-deserved honor that reflects his decades of dedication to agriculture.

00:12:48He's also been a strong advocate for Florida farmers, speaking out on key issues like trade and labor,

00:12:53and serving on multiple advisory committees to help shape agriculture policy. Mr. Alderman,

00:12:58thank you for being here today, and you begin, you may begin your testimony.

00:13:10We farm about 1200 acres in eastern Palm Beach County.

00:13:15We are a very diversified farming operation. Can you make sure you turn your, Mr. Alderman,

00:13:19can you turn your mic on? Sorry. It's on there. It's on. Can we start over? Where am I at?

00:13:26Okay, again, my name is Jim Alderman. I began farming Alderman Farms in 1979. We farm approximately

00:13:341200 acres in eastern Palm Beach County. We're a diversified farming operation growing mixed organic

00:13:40vegetables and particularly vine ripe tomatoes. We grow the finest vine ripe tomato in this country.

00:13:48Trust me. South Florida is a very unique climate which allows us to produce vegetables during the

00:13:55winter months, but it also brings unique challenges, hurricanes, invasive pest development pressure,

00:14:03and rising input costs. You learn to adapt, and you also learn that it's not a sprint. It's a lifelong

00:14:10commitment. At the age of 78 years old, I've spent almost four and a half decades working the land.

00:14:18I still wake up before sunrise,

00:14:20most days like my peers. I'm still going strong because there's more work to be done. According

00:14:29to committee's report, the average farmer is now 58 years old in Florida. Nearly 40 percent of our

00:14:35producers are 65 or older. We're proud of our experience and knowledge, but the question I ask is who is

00:14:42coming behind us? That's the part that keeps me up at night. It's just not growing the crops. It's passing

00:14:49down the knowledge, discipline, and the way of life. But that chain of succession is breaking. Nationwide,

00:14:56less than nine percent of farmers are under 35 years of age. And then the numbers are even more sobering

00:15:05in states like mine. Young people want to farm, but they're running into walls, such as

00:15:11land, expensive land costs, expensive equipment costs. The cost of financing is very difficult.

00:15:18The big question is why are farming selling out without young men and women stepping in?

00:15:24The incentive to make a profit is not there. We may ask why can't they make a profit? The first

00:15:31reason comes to me is that the imports are being shipped into this country below our production cost.

00:15:38If a farmer cannot make money, he's not going to expand his operation.

00:15:44If his opportunity to sell land, which he's farmed for years, comes, sometimes the opportunity is too

00:15:51great. They sell, retire, and then development comes. Parking lots, residential communities,

00:15:57and no agriculture. How can we help farmers make it so we can be competitive with our neighbors to the

00:16:03north and our south? We have to be on the same level playing field. Another problem farmers have is the

00:16:10invasion of invasive insects and diseases that have entered our country from other countries.

00:16:17For example, we've seen the citrus industry,

00:16:21citrus greening has devastated the citrus industry. We have gone from 240 million boxes of oranges in

00:16:28production to around 40 million boxes today, all because of an insect that came in with bacteria

00:16:34that causes citrus greening. I think that it would help our country if we had better inspections at our

00:16:42ports of entry to combat the invasion of insects and diseases that come from other countries.

00:16:48One of the other problems we have is that we're being over-regulated. Food safety is a primary concern for

00:16:56Alderman Farms. We're very careful to make sure that we have the safest produce coming from our farm.

00:17:03Presently, we have several food safety inspections. It would be great so that we could only have one that

00:17:09would serve for all the different inspectors that are required. Again, farmers must make a profit. They must

00:17:16make money to continue their operation or they will take the easy way out, sell their property, and retire.

00:17:23Free and equal trade between our neighboring countries is a must. And as you know, labor is a major problem in agriculture.

00:17:31We are now dependent on H-2A labor for Mexico, because we cannot get enough domestic labor

00:17:37to harvest our crops. Agricultural labor reform is a must. If we want to sustain agriculture in America,

00:17:45we need to smooth the path between generations, which means investing in beginner farmers' programs,

00:17:51expanding technical assistance, and offering incentives like estate planning support, and make it easier to

00:17:57transfer farms without losing the land or the legacy. These aren't just policy tweaks. They are steps in

00:18:05our food system to prevent eroding one generation at a time.

00:18:11So I come before you today, not just as a farmer, but someone who cares deeply about

00:18:16the future of our country's food supply. We need strong bipartisan action to support aging farmers,

00:18:22invest in new generations, and keep American agriculture alive and well for decades to come.

00:18:29Thank you for recognizing the urgency of this problem, and thank you for allowing farmers like me

00:18:36to have a voice. Thank you, Mr. Alderson. I'd be glad to take any questions at any time from anybody.

00:18:44Perfect. Our next witness brings a critical perspective from the private sector, someone who has spent his

00:18:48career helping agricultural businesses find the talent and leadership they need to succeed. Mr. Aaron

00:18:53Locker is Managing Director at Ken Cannon and Reed, the largest executive search firm in the world,

00:18:59focusing exclusively on food and agriculture. He also knows this issue personally. He grew up on a

00:19:05small family farm in Ohio, and he spent more than three decades working across the ag industry.

00:19:11Thank you for being here. We appreciate your work, and we look forward to hearing your insights.

00:19:14Afternoon, Mr. Scott, Ranking Member Gillibrand, and members of the committee. Thanks for the

00:19:19opportunity to testify before you today. As Mr. Chairman Scott pointed out, my name is Aaron

00:19:24Locker, and I grew up on a small farm in Ohio, and spent the last 36 years working in agriculture,

00:19:32from food production to executive leadership. Today, I serve as Managing Director at Ken Cannon and Reed.

00:19:39We are the largest executive search firm focused exclusively on identifying and recruiting leadership

00:19:45for organizations across the food and agriculture industries, the organizations that feed the world.

00:19:51For more than 40 years, we've helped ag organizations find and develop talent, and right now that leadership

00:19:57pipeline is under serious strain. In 2025, more people will turn 65 than in any year in history. For every potential

00:20:06leader age 35 to 50, too, are preparing to retire. In agriculture, where many senior leaders have been in place for decades,

00:20:15this creates an acute succession challenge, and the next generation of leaders, especially those with agricultural backgrounds,

00:20:22is smaller than ever. This is not a coincidence. The 1980s farm crisis didn't just hurt balance sheets.

00:20:29It changed the interest in being involved in agriculture. The farm crisis didn't just hurt those in production,

00:20:35but the ripple effect was across the industry. Between 1980 and 1990, while college enrollment went up 7%

00:20:43nationwide, enrollment in land-grant university colleges of agriculture like Texas A&M, Nebraska,

00:20:50Minnesota, Penn State, and Iowa State, to name a few, dropped by nearly 37%. That gap is being realized today in

00:20:59boardrooms, field offices, and agronomy teams. Meanwhile, the complexity of agriculture is growing.

00:21:06Precision and decision ag technologies, automation, AI on the farm, and sustainability initiatives,

00:21:12they're moving fast. But fewer than one-third of ag companies that we work with have formal succession plans.

00:21:18That's not just a statistic, that's a systemic risk.

00:21:21Job growth in agriculture is steady, around three percent per year. But tech and finance are growing

00:21:28three times faster. So we're not just competing for talent, we are competing for leadership.

00:21:34And that matters, because as you mentioned, Chairman Scott, food security is national security.

00:21:40Attracting and retaining the next generation also depends on profitability and predictability.

00:21:46When farmers and agribusinesses face constant regulatory uncertainty or rising compliance costs,

00:21:52it discourages investment and makes leadership succession harder. To keep agriculture strong,

00:21:58we must reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens and ensure producers and those across the industry see a

00:22:04future worth building toward. This is not a challenge the private agribusiness sector can solve alone.

00:22:11Congress does have a vital role to play, and I respectfully offer four recommendations.

00:22:17First, pass a strong, fully funded farm bill. It provides stability for farmers, ranchers,

00:22:23and rural communities. Second, promote agriculture as a mission-driven, modern career path.

00:22:30No other sector blends health, nutrition, energy, and technology like agriculture.

00:22:37We have built the safest, most abundant food supply in the world. But that system will not sustain itself

00:22:44without the people who lead it. Young people and career changers need to see ag as a place to lead

00:22:50and innovate. Third, invest in leadership development. Support USDA scholarships, executive fellowships,

00:22:58and training through land-grant universities and ag nonprofits. And fourth, strengthen rural workforce

00:23:05development. That means apprenticeships, veteran transitions, and community college ag programs.

00:23:11And it means building career paths from urban and suburban areas into agriculture.

00:23:16In closing, the food and agriculture industries are evolving fast. But our leadership pipeline

00:23:23is not keeping up. This is not just a workforce issue. It's a threat to our most essential system,

00:23:29our food supply. If we want a strong, sustainable agricultural future, we must invest in people.

00:23:37We must identify and support leaders early. And we must give them room to grow.

00:23:44Thank you for your time and for your focus on this issue. And I too look forward to any questions that

00:23:49you may have. Thank you, Mr. Locker. Now I'd like to recognize ranking member Gillibrand to introduce

00:23:55her witness. Thank you, Chairman Scott. I'd like to introduce Dr. Chris Wolfe. Dr. Wolfe is the E.V.

00:24:01Baker Professor of Agriculture Economics at Cornell University's Charles H. Dyson School of Amplified,

00:24:09excuse me, Applied Economics and Management and the Director of Land Grant Affairs. Dr. Wolfe conducts

00:24:15research, extension, and teaching focusing on dairy products and policy. Business management,

00:24:23risk management, and farm animal welfare. He also works with farmers to conduct research in order to

00:24:30identify how public policy impacts farm behavior and financial outcomes with the intent of improving

00:24:36decision making for policy makers and industry professionals. You may begin. Thank you. Chairman

00:24:45Scott, Ranking Member Gillibrand and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to be part of

00:24:49this hearing. As Senator Gillibrand said, I currently serve as the E.V. Baker Professor of Agricultural

00:24:56Economics at Cornell University where I'm jointly in the SC Johnson College of Business and the College

00:25:01of Agriculture and Life Sciences. I have a three-way split research extension and teaching. I've been at

00:25:07Cornell since 2019 and mostly I do work on dairy policy, farm business management. I've taught farm

00:25:13business management and ag finance for the last 25 years at the universities. I also serve as the faculty

00:25:19director of the New York Farm Net program. In my home state of New York, which is currently the fifth

00:25:24largest producer of milk, we're in the midst of $2.5 billion in new private sector investment in dairy

00:25:30manufacturing. To enable this growth, Cornell is focused on helping to ensure our family farms thrive,

00:25:36bringing the next generation back to the farm, increasing production in a sustainable way,

00:25:41and training both college-bound and non-college-bound students for dairy careers.

00:25:44There are a number of explanations for the increased U.S. farm age. One is that there's a larger share of

00:25:52commercial farms that are multi-generational in nature. Rather than the kids operating separate

00:25:56farms like they would have done maybe when I was kind of thinking about going back to the farm,

00:26:00they return to the operation and become owners, which enables economies of size and production and

00:26:05management. In this case, the management team might have a younger average age that is masked by

00:26:10considering only the primary operator. Modern agricultural production also tends to be quite

00:26:15capital intensive and that capital accumulation occurs over the manager's lifetime, the result

00:26:20being that the average farm age is getting older. Finally, given the USDA definition of the farm is any

00:26:25place with a thousand dollars or more of agricultural products produced and sold or normally produced and

00:26:31sold during a year, there are a large percentage of farms which are operated as part-time businesses

00:26:35and there's nothing wrong with that. This also means that if someone retires to some rural acreage,

00:26:40they will be included as a farm and increased farm age. This is not meant to imply that there are

00:26:45no issues with farm viability related to increasing farmer age. These include hurdles that limit the entry

00:26:51of young people into farming and the need to facilitate the transfer of assets to the next generation

00:26:56while providing the resources necessary for the retirement of the older generation. Family-owned farms,

00:27:01which are 96% of U.S. farms, are closely held businesses. The farms tend to be of the size that

00:27:07meets the management constraints and the income needs of the family owner-operators. Because the capital

00:27:13requirements, farm business assets are often the retirement plan for farmers. While these farmers hope to

00:27:18pass the business to the next generation, they also need to recover the equity value to fund their retirement.

00:27:26Attracting the next generation of farm business owner-managers means making the profession

00:27:30attractive in terms of income and rural amenities. Significant impediments to successful intergenerational

00:27:37transfer often relate to information gaps and this is where land-grant extension programs can be a

00:27:42valuable partner. New York FarmNet is a program that was created in 1986 in response to the farm financial

00:27:48crisis. The program operates a toll-free number that responds to requests for the team of financial and

00:27:54mental health professionals to meet with farm families at no cost. Including mental health professionals was

00:28:00motivated by the alarming fact that farmers face much higher rates of depression and suicide than the

00:28:05general population. FarmNet receives about 700 calls a year resulting in about 400 new cases being opened.

00:28:13The remaining calls are referred for technical accounting or legal assistance. Sources of financial stress that

00:28:19farm net season include price uncertainty, labor costs and availability, capital costs, land access,

00:28:25and estate and succession planning. Family related stressors include health issues, child care, elder care,

00:28:32and drug and alcohol abuse. Agriculture ranks among the most dangerous industries in the U.S. with machinery

00:28:38accidents and injuries being common. Health care issues include not just the cost but also the availability and

00:28:44proximity. Farmers often report delaying or avoiding health care due to cost distance and time constraints.

00:28:51Many farmers are underinsured or uninsured especially those who are self-employed and operate small

00:28:55family farms. Farm business succession is a major source of financial and family related stress on farms.

00:29:02FarmNet and Cornell Cooperative Extension and land grants across the country offer educational workshops

00:29:08and materials on farm business succession and estate transfer. In 2024, FarmNet assisted farm

00:29:14businesses that represented over 13 million dollars in revenue, 600 employees keeping more than 180,000 acres

00:29:21active in farming. FarmNet's experience is that managers who participate in these programs for estate

00:29:27planning and farm business transfer are likely to engage with attorneys and accountants to complete

00:29:31successful intergenerational transfer. Applied research and extension land grant programs like FarmNet can

00:29:37provide valuable assistance to help ensure successful farm business transitions in a healthy U.S. agricultural sector.

00:29:43Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Worth. Now we'll open up for questions. Senator Tuberville.

00:29:50Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for having and holding this hearing. In addition to being on the Aging Committee,

00:29:56gentlemen, I'm also on the Ag Committee. Let me tell you the state of agriculture economy,

00:30:02it's in dire straits. We're in trouble. We've lost 150,000 farms, 25,000 farmers just in the last five years.

00:30:13Producers have lost over $40 billion in net farm income since 2022 and the current agriculture trade deficit

00:30:20has grown to $49 billion. Despite my state of Alabama producers making bumper crops, they can't even break

00:30:30even, much less make a profit due to the low commodity prices, high input cost, interest rates, and inflation.

00:30:36We can't keep this up. Can't do it. The only way we're going to help our farmers survive is to extend

00:30:44President Trump's tax cuts. Increased rate people are not entering farming. Mr. Duvall and Mr. Alderman,

00:30:57this labor problem increases the need for reforms in H2A programs.

00:31:06President Trump's tax cuts. Can you too speak of the struggles of keeping up with H2A programs that

00:31:27is over $16 an hour in my state of Alabama. That is double the minimum wage. Can you address that please?

00:31:36Yes, sir, I can. Thank you. It cost me $42 an hour for my H2A labor, okay? Minimum wage in Florida,

00:31:49I think, is $12.50. I'm from Florida, and with the rates going up higher next year, they're going up,

00:31:57and they're talking about going up another dollar. We still have to pay for their housing. We'd like some

00:32:02relief. At least we could get the housing back from the people, the H2A workers who were bringing in.

00:32:09But we spend, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars every year just for housing for the labor.

00:32:15Plus, we have to bring them in here, pay for their visas, pay for their ride here, their ride back.

00:32:21They're great labor. They're good. Without them, we couldn't harvest our crop. But we can't compete with

00:32:27the cheap prices of tomatoes coming from Mexico against us. They're undercut the price so cheap.

00:32:35We're talking, the tariff that we're talking about is not enough to make any difference.

00:32:4020%, 17%, that's not enough to help it. They need a floor, at least what our minimum growing cost is,

00:32:46and then put a tariff above that. But try to protect the Florida farmers that are few that are left.

00:32:51And it's not only just in Florida, because at first it was just, Mexico was coming after Florida

00:32:56tomato farmers right after NAFTA. Well, 20 years later, they're growing pepper and squash and corn

00:33:02and beans. And every vegetable we grow all the way up the East Coast, all the way to Jersey and past,

00:33:07they're going to be competing with all of them, Mexico, with all those products. And their labor is,

00:33:13I don't know, what are they paying, $10 a day and we're paying $25 an hour? There's got to be some

00:33:21help with the balance of trade. We don't want the government to give us anything, but get us on a

00:33:27level playing field with Mexico and Canada. Thank you. Mr. Ball, you want to add to that?

00:33:32Yes, sir. First thing we need to do is for Congress to freeze the AWAR wage rate so that farmers don't

00:33:39have to take another increase and give us time to work on this H2A program so that we can make it a

00:33:45workable program for our employees and for the farmer there. The way we're going now with the wage

00:33:52rate going up, we're going to price ourselves out of farming. We're not going to be able to pay the wage

00:33:57rate and stay in the farming and provide those jobs. And it's got to be done. It's got to be done quickly.

00:34:03And then we've got to work on creating an H2A program or a program that speaks to all of agriculture.

00:34:10All of agriculture is suffering for the lack of labor. And we need to have year-round workers

00:34:16that's not capped. We need to be able to control it, but we need to be able to fill those jobs,

00:34:21whether a small, medium, or large-sized farm. And we need to have those year-round workers in those

00:34:27areas like dairy and other places where work never stops. And then, of course, the regulation that go

00:34:33along with those programs are just so burdensome. You heard him talk about the requirement of having

00:34:41housing, the liabilities that come along with that, and the difficulty it is for our farmers to

00:34:48continue to abide by all these regulations, because every regulation costs a lot of money to a farmer.

00:34:54And if we're going to continue to be able to compete with the world, we've got to be able to make sure

00:34:59that we have a workable program, bring reliable labor here so that we can get the job done.

00:35:04Why would a young farmer, how can a young farmer come back to the farm and bring his expertise that

00:35:10he learned in college, expand that farm without having a labor force to do it with? That's one of the

00:35:15biggest limiting factors we have. And that AWAR rate is set by a survey done through USDA that was created

00:35:23over 60 years ago to count employees, not to set a wage rate. The formula is totally unworkable,

00:35:32and we need to redo that formula and set a fair wage rate that encourages farmers to hire people

00:35:38and be able to still stay in business and treat those employees right.

00:35:42Thank you. Senator Tuberville, ranking member Gillibrand.

00:35:44Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Wolf, we've seen several different tariff levels imposed on various

00:35:53countries at various points on different goods in the last several months. This has impacted everything

00:35:59from feed costs, food fertilizer and machinery, increasing operation costs for a lot of our farmers

00:36:06who already work within very tight financial margins. In the north country of New York State,

00:36:12many dairy farmers depend on Canadian feed and fertilizer for their operations. This has been

00:36:18a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship that we have had with Canada and has benefited

00:36:23businesses on both sides of the border. Dr. Wolf, in your opinion, what possible outcomes can we expect

00:36:28to see if the United States continues to impose these tariffs, which may lead to both higher input prices

00:36:35and restricted access to export markets due to retaliatory tariffs?

00:36:39Senator Gillibrand, U.S. agriculture is dependent on trade both for many inputs as well as for export

00:36:47markets for their outputs. So the, you know, increasing tariffs and trade wars certainly not something that

00:36:54are going to benefit U.S. farmers. For example, farms are dependent on inputs from Canada for things like

00:37:00fertilizer, lumber and metals. So, you know, maintaining that relationship, it was better for the farmers

00:37:06definitely there. The U.S. dairy industry, which is what I mostly work with, on average exports about one

00:37:11day a week of the milk production. And the most important outlets for U.S. dairy exports are Mexico,

00:37:18Canada and China. So maintaining that relationship is critical for U.S. dairy. Without these exports,

00:37:24you know, stocks would surge and milk prices would be depressed and that would lead to more farm exits.

00:37:30And the U.S. dairy farms are efficient and they can compete with anybody in a global market and I

00:37:34think that's what they they want to do. But we've got to be perceived as a reliable trade partner.

00:37:39And that same statement could be made for a whole bunch of different U.S. commodities from beef and pork

00:37:43to corn and soybeans. In a broader sense, the uncertainty in the last few months, uncertainty tends to

00:37:51inhibit investment. When an outcomes and the probabilities of the outcomes are uncertain,

00:37:57that that basically creates a positive option value to weighting on investment, which is what we've

00:38:03seen in the last few months a little bit. So we're weighting on investments at a lot of different levels

00:38:11and removing that uncertainty, I think, would help make U.S. agriculture more a better longer term

00:38:16investment and encourage investment in that sense. Thank you, Dr. Wolf. Farming is one of the most

00:38:23stressful occupations due to its unpredictability of climate market prices and labor shortages.

00:38:30The rate of suicide among farmers is two to five times higher than the national average and approximately

00:38:3860% of rural Americans live in a designated mental health provider shortage area.

00:38:45I was proud to introduce the National Agricultural Crisis Hotline Act last Congress to establish a

00:38:50national agricultural crisis hotline while expanding and supporting the current work undertaken by the

00:38:57Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. Programs like the ones at Cornell's New York Farm Net and the

00:39:04American Farm Bureau's Federation Farm State of Mind program are both critical to resources to support our

00:39:12farmers in moments of crisis. President Duvall and Dr. Wolf, how should commerce expand resources to help

00:39:20our farmers access the mental health assistance that they need and how can we reduce the stigma

00:39:27surrounding mental health and the agricultural community to encourage our farmers and ranchers to

00:39:32reach out when they are in need before they are in a moment of crisis? Dr. Mr. Duvall.

00:39:38Yes, ma'am. I take that very seriously because I remember when I was a dairian during my time of

00:39:47when I was back on the farm before I got this job and dairian every day I lost my wife and

00:39:5442 years my son went to war in Iraq and with all the pressures of the farm I realized what those pressures

00:40:01do to a man and us old farmers we kind of crusty we sit in the back room think we're not supposed to

00:40:06talk about our feelings but that's the worst thing we can do yeah the stigma that goes along with it

00:40:11the embarrassment that people think they experience is not really there and really and truly all they

00:40:16need to do is open up and talk it's okay not to be okay but it's not okay not to talk about it that's

00:40:21why we went and started our Farm State of Mind program and we also joined up with Together All which

00:40:27puts us in with a group of a group a peer-to-peer group that farmers can talk talk be talking to each other

00:40:35and and uh free counseling for farmers and ranchers all over the country to be able to be part of

00:40:41the the to support what you brought up Georgia Farm Bureau and Georgia Foundation for Agriculture and

00:40:48and Georgia Rural Health did a study and it was very sobering the facts that 29 percent reported thinking

00:40:55about dying of suicide of of Georgia farmers and when you look at the younger generation the first year

00:41:03first generation farmers 49 of them first generation farmers had thought about dying of suicide at

00:41:11least once a month those are those are devastating devastating figures and we got we got to continue

00:41:17to work from Congress to make sure that we tear down these barriers that cause causes a higher regulation

00:41:24that causes pressure for farmers uh find an answer to our labor problems that is workable for our farmers

00:41:31uh and be able to work with them with a undocumented workforce we we in agriculture know that about

00:41:3850 percent of the workers out there on the farm are undocumented and those people are like family to

00:41:43these farmers and we need a way to work through that situation that a broken system has created here in

00:41:49this country so uh there are a lot of things that Congress can do but being able to put them put them on a

00:41:55a level playing field and trade tear down regulation help them find a work work a workable workforce

00:42:02would come up go a long way it's taking a lot of pressure off Dr. Wolf do you want to answer

00:42:07sure thanks so I a couple different things I'd point out one is that um the big part of it is uh Mr. Duval

00:42:15mentioned is overcoming the stigma and I think that uh education and awareness can go a long way towards

00:42:21overcoming the stigma so maybe a series of public service announcement announcements collaboratively

00:42:26with groups like maybe American Farm Bureau and other commodity groups could help uh provide more

00:42:31awareness and then accessibility as as you mentioned a toll-free number that they can call with trained

00:42:38counselors and resources would have a positive impact and also given the distance that many have

00:42:44these in living in remote areas having telemedicine in addition to the toll-free number with

00:42:51again counselors and resources that understand what's going on in these rural areas and with farmers

00:42:56would be very valuable thank you Mr. Chairman Senator Justice

00:43:03Mr. Chairman thank you so much and uh ranking member thank you thank all you great senators

00:43:11and especially Coach Toverfield you know he uh he and our buddies and we're both on the ag committee

00:43:20and I want you to pay as close attention as to me as you possibly can our our family's been in the farming business for a long long long time

00:43:32we got a real real real problem in agriculture a real problem and it is so serious it's off the chart

00:43:40you know just think about it not only do we have a real problem we're getting old and as we get older

00:43:48and everything the problem gets more and more and more critical now just stay with me just one second if

00:43:55i were to tell you just this America is the greatest country on the planet a million fold and with that we have

00:44:03the greatest the greatest people the most loving people the very very best of the best but we're spoiled

00:44:11rotten any way you cut it we are spoiled rotten on food absolutely we're taking advantage

00:44:22of our small family farms beyond belief you talk about taking for granted somebody and what they're

00:44:31doing with their work that's what we do every day and we won't address the problem the problem is really

00:44:40really simple if we don't do something about this we're going to have a crisis at some point in time

00:44:46like you can't imagine now it may be a ways away but for god's sakes of living we surely to goodness

00:44:53deserve to have a farm bill you know but with all that said you think about depression and suicide

00:45:01and i could ask you a bunch of questions but i'm just going to talk okay and and here's the deal

00:45:07i mean you just think about the average size small family farm in America the average size is about 430

00:45:15acres now if we could use 500 just for a second and we could just think of these gentlemen are right

00:45:21here and just think what could they sell their farms for if they had a 500 acre farm and many of them

00:45:28have a whole lot bigger than that but if they had a 500 acre farm and it was worth pick a number pick

00:45:35i don't care fifteen thousand dollars an acre ten thousand dollars an acre their net worth after they

00:45:41throw away you know they take care of some debt it's so substantial they could give the money to

00:45:47goldman sachs never touch the touch the principles go to somewhere and live and honest to god make 10

00:45:54times what they're making on the farm now just think about this what if at some point in time in life

00:46:04some giant corporation or god forbid a foreign country ends up owning a tremendous amount of our

00:46:12farmland in america then think about just this what if they just all of a sudden they farmed one crop

00:46:20put it in ungodly amounts of storage and said the price on that corn is two hundred dollars a bushel

00:46:26and if you don't want to pay that we're not selling it and we're not going to plan again

00:46:33and at that point in time we spin in a crisis like you can't fathom now if you want a mile long food

00:46:41in the grocery stores and paying 14 or whatever it is of your annual income towards food quit taking

00:46:48advantage of these people quit taking them for granted we're going as as a government we got smart

00:46:55people here that can figure out what to do but we just don't put any passion and emphasis on it we

00:47:00don't now i've done this over and over and over and over and i've said this forever more the point in

00:47:08time when we as a government we as our people put real passion and emphasis and importance on this we'll

00:47:17solve it if we don't solve it it's going to bite us and that and it will not be pretty so with all

00:47:25that being said like i said i could ask you a bunch of bunch of questions there's no point in me doing

00:47:30that i've been on this same rant a bunch of times because i'm on the ag committee too and i'm telling

00:47:38you that i can see it coming this is like being in a bubble this is what they're doing they're like

00:47:43in a bubble right now they're screaming they're screaming they got a problem they got a real real

00:47:48real crisis we don't have young people going into farming today why would they i mean they're not

00:47:56nuts why would they everybody's screaming in the bubble and we don't hear them and we best better hear

00:48:05in america mr chairman i'm done thank you sir thank you senator justice and a warning thank you very much

00:48:12mr chair and um thank you for organizing this this hearing i want to recognize all of our panelists

00:48:19but especially a great georgian in the room my friend mr zippy duval thank you for being here

00:48:26thank you for your voice on so many of these important issues uh for being a voice for farmers

00:48:32all across georgia and all across our country and for your lifetime of service

00:48:38uh as you know too well in recent uh years it seems like georgia farmers have been hit

00:48:48by one thing after another after another it's it's a tough business and there's so many things that you

00:48:56uh can't control uh like the weather um but in addition to that rising input costs

00:49:08um and in addition to rising input costs and these weather events that we have seen in recent years that

00:49:16have created such a setback for farmers on top of all of that uh we're now dealing with pointless trade wars

00:49:23farmers and these trade wars will make it even harder to get their products uh to international

00:49:30markets i've uh been honored to work with many of my colleagues across the aisle uh to help our

00:49:37farmers get their products to markets and now all of that is being disrupted in in many ways mr duval

00:49:43i've heard from georgia farmers particularly our older farmers who are turning to drastic measures like

00:49:50selling off pieces of their families farmland and taking out second mortgages just to stay afloat are

00:49:57you hearing similar things from your farm bureau members and friends and georgia's farming community

00:50:04and if so what what concerns you about this yes sir all across america i hear the same thing and of course

00:50:11uh farmers basically right now are supportive of this administration and their effort try to level

00:50:18the playing field we're all praying it all works right now i will tell you our farm farm bureau policy

00:50:24is that we don't support tariffs because we know we're always the blunt other uh repercussions from

00:50:31from coming from that but we also know that uh our farmers have got to have that level playing field

00:50:40because uh a lot of 20 percent of our income comes from trade overseas and they got to have it so

00:50:46so they're willing to wait what worries me most and what i see most references what you just said

00:50:53we are seeing farmers have to take sales part of their land out and take another mortgage

00:50:58when when we get to this fall and we don't have solutions to the trade problems and the tariff problems

00:51:04and everyone starts selling a very very cheap commodity and can't pay for the expenses the inputs that

00:51:12they bought to grow that commodity and then they have to turn around the next month and go back to

00:51:18their banker and say i'm ready to borrow my money to plant next year's crop and he hadn't paid off last

00:51:24year's debt we're going to be in serious serious problem right and you're going to see farmers and

00:51:30ranches all over this country go through mental health issues like you've never seen before since we've

00:51:36seen in the 80s with high interest rates and it's going to be very very difficult and feeling you know

00:51:44forced to sell their their land which has implications uh for all of us but certainly uh the you can't pass

00:51:52it on to your uh to the next generation and um since 2017 the average number of farmers over the age of 65

00:52:03increased by 12 percent

00:52:06just since 2017. um

00:52:11so that's that's one of the things that happens when farmers are are forced to sell

00:52:16uh can you talk about some of the other consequences both for the farmers and for us

00:52:21if they're forced to sell that land comes out of production and never goes back into production

00:52:26and there's so much competition now for land it makes it prevents young farmers and beginning farmers

00:52:33that want to go into agriculture god help them

00:52:37uh have a difficult time finding that land to do that availability of land availability of of

00:52:44of of of of uh money loans

00:52:48uh is is one of the biggest stumbling blocks young farmers and beginning farmers have going into the

00:52:54business access to credit so all of these things would would you say that the tariffs and the

00:52:59uncertainty that's been created around the tariffs has has made it worse tougher for for

00:53:04uh even tougher and a tough business i think i think in the short term it it it has not really

00:53:11affected them yet but when we get to this fall and they start selling their commodities

00:53:16and and if the we don't have solutions to the tariff war then we will have lost some markets that we

00:53:24have depended on for years uh and and and then we'll start seeing the crisis hit yeah i think that's

00:53:30just the thing the the uncertainty yes and you're having to make decisions within the context of

00:53:35uncertainty the people you would sell to they're having to make decisions all up and down uh all across

00:53:41the the the uh the uh trade zones and um which makes it very very difficult um uh to plan so so

00:53:51thank you for being a voice uh in this moment it's my view that farmers are not helped by this uh

00:53:57increasing uncertainty and we need to bring some sanity to this conversation about trade which by the

00:54:04way uh congress could do something about trade tomorrow if we decided to do it it's within the wheelhouse

00:54:10of congress uh thank you so very much for your testimony thank you senator senator tuberville

00:54:17i got one question mr locker we'll start with you all of you can answer if you want your thoughts on

00:54:23this as long as i've been up here i've been advocating to permanently repeal the federal estate tax which

00:54:29is often called the death tax i know it means a lot to farmers so mr locker we'll start with you your

00:54:36thoughts well senator i think obviously you look at modern agriculture today i mean it is a massive

00:54:44investment even small farms i mean if you add up all the assets and so anytime that that you want to

00:54:50pass that along to the next generation that comes at a significant cost and is in many cases cost prohibitive

00:54:57and so yeah doing away with the death tax and i think we get we get uh you know bottled in with

00:55:03you know other businesses and it's it's couldn't be farther from the truth in terms of uh comparable

00:55:10uh that you know when you're passing along a farm business um it comes with like i said a lot of

00:55:16cost a lot of assets it takes a lot to run a farm today and so doing away with the estate the death tax

00:55:23uh is the right thing to do to be able to continue to pass it down to the next generation otherwise it

00:55:29becomes cost prohibitive mr vall you gotta it's absolutely one of the necessary things that we

00:55:36need to do a farmer works all his life i've spent my whole life buying back my farm my daddy's had to

00:55:44sell part of it all my whole life and if we don't fix that problem if we don't get rid of inheritance tax

00:55:53other generations will have to sell the farm and that that farm will go out of production

00:56:00and we will not enjoy the production from those farms and it has to be done you know it's just like

00:56:07people say well you got a lot of land you got a lot of wealth you have to have land to farm

00:56:13you it's just like having a tractor it's like having a car to go to work in every day even if you're not

00:56:19farming it's something you have to have to to do that job and and but show me a farmer that has a

00:56:27retirement plan it's tied up in his land it's tied up in his land and when he retires he's either got

00:56:34to sell his land or sell it to his children and then if you pile inheritance tax on top of that they

00:56:42have to sell part of the farm to be able to continue it and it is one of the biggest devastating

00:56:47devastating things that can happen to a family farm when when you have a death and have to go

00:56:52through that difficult time i agree with you wholeheartedly uh it's it's double taxation it

00:57:00shouldn't be there you've already paid the taxes once why are you gonna just put somebody out of

00:57:04business or make them sell their business or the farm it shouldn't be there i agree with you one

00:57:09other thing you might all thought think about and this is not related to that but somewhat

00:57:13what years ago and i'm not an accountant not a cpa i'm a farmer we know a little bit of a lot of

00:57:19nothing you know so uh some of the equipment i've been looking at uh laser weeder your ai stuff that's

00:57:27coming around it's a million four hundred thousand dollars i can't afford it but what i'm wondering

00:57:33years ago we had a rapid depreciation schedules where you could depreciate something real quickly and

00:57:38and write it off quicker is that something that could be done maybe one of you professors know

00:57:44what it is now but that would probably help some of the farmers out there to do some rapid depreciation

00:57:50on farm equipment mr wolf your thoughts on the state tech uh yeah well so with the increasing size of

00:58:00commercial farms and with the average farmland value being four thousand dollars and there's a lot of

00:58:06places where the farmers would be real happy to be able to buy more land for four thousand dollars

00:58:10an acre so that average is hiding a lot of uh much higher prices uh in in some places certainly

00:58:16there's a increasing number of farms that are running up against the potential to lose some of the

00:58:22value in an estate tax and as the other witnesses have said you know you can't give up the land

00:58:31usually and still be a viable farm right this is not the same as it's not liquid if you sell it

00:58:35it's gone and so um and so that highlights the need to do the farm business uh succession in the

00:58:42estate planning and if you don't do that which is you know it's pretty easy to forget that and nobody

00:58:47likes to do by the way uh estate planning right it's not fun we all need to do it but that's kind of

00:58:52admitting that you know you're gonna have to have that at some point so that's not fun to do but um

00:58:58certainly it's different for farm businesses because they're small and medium-sized

00:59:02family-owned closely held businesses then so it's fundamentally different than other types of

00:59:07businesses thank you so mr devall mr alderman um alderson what um has mexico dumped any crops

00:59:17uh on on farmers in the united states

00:59:20yes sir you had to put your mic on you got your mic on oh it's on okay really what so how do they do

00:59:32that well can i give you the personal example that happened to me two weeks ago yeah okay so we're

00:59:38selling grape tomatoes to a company in new york state okay and our fob price is 16.50

00:59:46cents we couldn't get the order been selling for quite a while couldn't get the order this week

00:59:52because i can get them delivered from mexico for ten dollars i can't pick and pack them and grow them

00:59:57for ten dollars i can't pick them and pack them for ten dollars so we couldn't take the order i'm not

01:00:02going to lose money i'd soon dump it rather than having to lose money and we dump a lot of tomatoes

01:00:08we can't sell them we dump them we don't have another market for them it's not like corn or soybeans that

01:00:13you can keep and sell next month if we don't have a market it goes into to go feed the cows

01:00:18so there's an example we were at uh so what are your why are your costs higher why yeah labor as

01:00:26i mentioned earlier h2a labors cost me 24 an hour how did they come up with that well the what do you

01:00:34call it a were a were so you who the federal government did that to you yes sir your friends

01:00:40at the federal government am i friends of it no your friends at the federal government did this

01:00:44to you well you guys are friends so you you know but you can do something about it uh it's it's not

01:00:50fair because we have to pay the housing for them okay so the how it's 16.50 an hour i think it is going

01:00:57up to you have to pay their way to get here you have to pay their way home here we have to pay their

01:01:01visas we pay feed them to get here when they get here we pay for their housing and when they go home we

01:01:07pay for their way home housing how do they come up with the 16.50 an hour

01:01:13do you want me to ask that yeah there's a the wage rate is set the awar wage rate is set by a survey

01:01:19done by usda that is 60 years old that was created to count the number of employees on farms

01:01:25not to set a wage rate and if you go look at the calculations in that wage rate and how

01:01:31what sectors that they use to calculate it they even use the wage rate of h2a workers to calculate

01:01:37it which is how do you do that that doesn't even make sense i've been all across this country i've

01:01:43been in every state out on farms talking to farmers i found three farmers that filled out that survey

01:01:49so who's filling the survey out where's the data coming from and why in the world would we set a wage

01:01:55rate based on a survey that's 60 years old and wasn't even designed to set a wage rate by

01:02:02may i suggest they go to mexico and find out what the average rate that these men were making before

01:02:08they came over here to work for for me or the other farmers are bringing h2a workers

01:02:13and it's probably what dollar an hour plus the inspections and regulation that this gentleman and

01:02:20a lot of our growers have to go through but they don't do that in mexico that they don't do in

01:02:24mexico well you mean they'd sell it in our grocery stores without doing that uh senator one question

01:02:30i'd like to ask have you ever seen the fda in mexico nope so you're paying you're paying for things that

01:02:41they don't have to pay for in mexico exactly so um so so do you think that our trade policy

01:02:48we allow mexico to dump tomatoes on uh on florida farmers is fair no sir all right i did have the

01:02:56opportunity to visit mr greer at ustr and we he and i talked about the dumping and it's not just

01:03:02tomatoes it's cucumbers it's bell peppers it's cherries it's strawberries it's cherries from uh turkey

01:03:08going dumping on what's happened in michigan it's all over the country and and it's time for our

01:03:14country to stand up and say no more you're going to dump your your your produce on our farmers so

01:03:21do you think do you think the um the trump administration is doing the right thing by um

01:03:26you know what commerce is doing with regard to eliminate the suspension agreement on tomatoes

01:03:31with james jameson greer is doing to try to raise the uh the tariff rates on on uh produce coming from

01:03:37other countries sir it's hard to find out what this tariff mr trump president trump is talking about

01:03:46first it started at 20 percent not 17 but let me tell you what will work okay if you have a minimum

01:03:53uh what would you call it a price manager a base that you you're at okay find out what it costs to

01:03:59grow a box of tomatoes in south florida and i will say it's between 12 and 14 dollars a box

01:04:04put that base in there they can't sell anything less than that and then charge them a tariff above

01:04:11that and 20 is not enough it won't slow them down if you take away the minimum the whatever they call

01:04:19it they take that away now they can charge you five dollars for a box of tomatoes and charge 17 tariff

01:04:26it doesn't amount to anything it's not going to slow them down a bit if they had 100 tariff on

01:04:31maybe that would slow them down but you find something go to other countries and see what

01:04:35they do go down to simple one go down to the bahamas and see if you try to ship a box of my

01:04:40tomatoes to the bahamas and what happens you'll pay about 20 dollars a box tariff on if there is a

01:04:45grower in there growing tomatoes in in freeport or in the bahamas someplace right it's not a fair

01:04:51policy we just like to be equal and fair so we're on the same level playing field right senator justice

01:04:57well mr chairman i i don't have a whole lot to say you know um i know these witnesses are superstars

01:05:09and i congratulate you on all the honors and everything that you've been able to do in your

01:05:13lives and and uh i'd really be interested in how many folks are out here that are some way some

01:05:20how involved in agriculture and i assume that most everybody and i know this from the bottom of my

01:05:28heart you know that uh for those that are young that live on the farm and grew up on the farm you want

01:05:35to absolutely in many situations you want to stay there you love it you love it with all your soul

01:05:43every one of you love it with all your soul you don't want to give up that way of life

01:05:50in any way and you are providing a service for all of us off the chart why can't we get it

01:05:59why can't we really just get it to the fact that you've got somebody you know a guy told me a long

01:06:06time ago he's the president of stanford seed company at the time his name was jim billings

01:06:11and jim billings said you know they were bought out by another seed company a little bit bigger

01:06:16and he and and and they were going to retain him and everything and they asked him to write a job

01:06:21description he said i sat down and i started writing and i wrote 13 pages of single space stuff of what

01:06:27i did every day and then i just laid my pencil down and thought and then picked it back up and said

01:06:34see the right person's in the right job and they're motivated that's you that's all

01:06:40of us that are in agriculture today we're a production engine like you can't imagine

01:06:46you can't imagine how good we are at what we do

01:06:52we're smart too we've got to solve this riddle and it is complicated as it can possibly be

01:07:00but you got smart people that love what they do and they're motivated by what they do because of their

01:07:06love we just gotta we just gotta solve the riddle and to solve the riddle i've never seen a situation

01:07:14in my life that you can solve it until you absolutely place a level of importance on it

01:07:21a big time level of importance

01:07:23we don't solve it shame on us that's all i can say you know and uh

01:07:32i've i've stood on the top of the mountain and screamed till i'm blue green

01:07:37you know it's uh it's a real problem mr chairman thank you sir thank you

01:07:43president of all how important is it to buy american products how why is it why is it important that we

01:07:47grow our um our food but the food we put in our body grown in america rather than places like mexico

01:07:54well we have absolutely no clue what conditions or techniques are used in mexico to grow that food

01:08:01and it is you know we don't test it we don't measure it we don't we don't they inspect it coming across

01:08:07the border they don't have enough inspectors to be able to do it correctly uh and and i think i think

01:08:13the federal government makes an attempt but just like i said when have you seen inspectors from

01:08:17america over in another country inspecting that food before it leaves those farms and comes to us

01:08:23like they do at his farm each and every day and it is important for us to realize like in your opening

01:08:28statement that food security is national security if we all were old enough to remember the the long gas

01:08:37lines when we had to sit in line get gas and how it almost brought our country to the knee

01:08:44if we all remember how scared we was when covet hit and all of a sudden we saw some shells at the

01:08:49grocery store empty if you take out if you don't solve our labor problems and put a profitability back

01:08:56in agriculture and young people not come back to it we will live to see that day again in this country

01:09:02and we'll be dependent on some other country to whether it's on our land or their land to feed us

01:09:08and we will not be a secure con country so if you're going to do three things that would impact

01:09:14the um the american farm what would be the top three things got to fix trade got to fix labor got

01:09:22to have a farm bill okay all right um mr locker from your position working with ag businesses what trends

01:09:28are you seeing in terms of workforce aging not just on farms but within the companies that support ag

01:09:33yeah mr chairman i mean we're seeing it across the board i mean first and foremost

01:09:39the whole agribusiness community obviously is driven by the health of the farmer

01:09:44and so by having a you know a farming population that is profitable predictable uh that drives

01:09:52everybody now we're coming off a almost a 40-year period of of pretty stable workforce um coming off

01:10:00the farm uh that as i mentioned in my opening statement is is drying up and it really doesn't it it's

01:10:07irrespective of whether it's um crop inputs uh ag machinery uh retailers cooperatives all of them

01:10:15across the industry are facing the same thing and because many of the executive leadership has has been

01:10:20in place for 30 40 years uh in in agriculture and so you know what what we're faced with is what happens

01:10:29when and i saw a statistic not too long ago that up to half of the current executives across agribusiness

01:10:36uh could be retiring between now and 2035 and with that goes all that institutional knowledge all the

01:10:42services all the technology all the things that we do to help the farmer uh produce like i said the most

01:10:49the the largest and most uh the safest food supply in the planet all that institutional knowledge can go

01:10:55away and so it's definitely a you know an issue that we're facing now we've we've done a lot of things

01:11:03uh recently working with companies on succession plans on um mentorships and even an intuitive

01:11:13conversation i had you know the other day with a company that they're they're even looking because

01:11:17of technology and ai uh reduce mentorships uh actually pairing young people with the senior executive

01:11:25to help them understand the next generation of leaders and and how you talk to them and how you

01:11:29get them attracted to agriculture as well as technology but you know i think the um so the trends are

01:11:36there and and what i would say and senator justice uh i couldn't say it any better um we need a stable uh

01:11:45farming community uh which starts with the farm bill once we get that stabilized then the investment

01:11:52comes back in the investment in technology um you know the investment in the tools that the farmers need

01:11:58because right now much of that investment is being held up because of lack of predictability

01:12:05lack of profitability at the farm uh and and so we need that stability and then the other thing i would

01:12:10say uh just to close with is we need that a greater share of of mind in in the u.s today about agriculture

01:12:21we need to attract you know a whole new generation of future leaders to agriculture uh because by by

01:12:28being able to say look agriculture you know has has transformed and we're going through another

01:12:33technology transformation as we speak like a lot of industries are with act with ai and you know on

01:12:40farm automation and so you know the the technology and the domain experience that we're going to need to

01:12:46attract to ag is going to be unparalleled over the next several years so i think you know by having

01:12:52working with you know congress to say yes we've said it more than once today uh food security is

01:12:58national security let's get a narrative out there that says and because of that we need to attract

01:13:04more people into the agriculture community now more than ever before thank you dr will from your

01:13:10research what are the most significant financial barriers facing aging dairy farmers who are looking to

01:13:15retire or transition their operations to the next generation uh senator uh scott yeah um

01:13:25the biggest the biggest problem is to be actively engaged in farming and um be able to transfer or

01:13:35sell those assets at a fair value so that you can um fund your retirement because again these farmers

01:13:41they don't have you know 401ks or 403bs right the their money is tied up in in the farming assets so

01:13:47they've got to make it work and and you know there are ways to do it um and but it takes planning ahead

01:13:55of time and it takes considering things like uh long-term leases and land contracts and and and and things

01:14:02like that to make it work and if you don't do that then it then it becomes um infeasible and and so you know

01:14:08tax policy is part of it and there's some things that we have in the tax code that that work now and

01:14:13some things that you maybe are thinking about extending that that could help um and again a lot of it is a is

01:14:20a um it's just an information problem and and also as mr locker pointed out i think correctly um well we

01:14:29definitely see more people want to go into agriculture when it's profitable right um if it's if you grow up on a

01:14:35farm and it's in and it looks like your parents are struggling it's not something you're going to

01:14:39not going to want to come back to so that's definitely key um mr devall you um so you've talked

01:14:46to jameson greer and i assume you've talked to um secretary rollins all right so we're talking about

01:14:52trade policy takes you know it takes two people to get a deal done right um so or do you think we're

01:14:58better off to just leave it as it is or try to improve our our uh our trade policy to stop the

01:15:04dumping we have to we have to try to improve our trade policy what we've done in the past has not

01:15:10worked we've not regained some of the markets that we lost in the trade war uh uh eight years ago uh and

01:15:18so we we need trade deals we need access we need certainty and you give our farmers a level playing field

01:15:26they'll compete with anybody on earth and yes of course especially during harvest time and of

01:15:33tomatoes and strawberries they shouldn't be able to be allowed to dump here on top and just depress

01:15:40the price to the point that the farmer can't successfully run a business under all the rules

01:15:46and regulations that cost them tons of money to abide by in this country so with secretary rollins and

01:15:52uh subtrig and lutnik and um the trade rep um greer are trying to do you think you know as difficult

01:16:00as it is it's worth trying to try to improve our trade policy with other countries that's what i hear

01:16:04our farmers say short term they're willing to take the pain long term we got to have solutions they can't

01:16:11handle it a long period of time when we go into this fall with this expensive crop to center ground

01:16:17and the cheap commodities that they're going to have to sell it's really going to be difficult for

01:16:24our farms all across america so mr waller will you talk about that a farm bill so what's in it that's

01:16:31important to you uh uh uh renewed uh uh title one with increasing reference prices uh support for

01:16:41continued support for crop insurance uh to be able to uh you know if a farmer small medium large

01:16:49growing whatever he might grow deserves to have a risk management tool that he participates in to be

01:16:57able to cover his risk that he's got in that crop so it ought it ought not be limited to certain

01:17:02commodities it ought to be widespread to all commodities all sizes of farms and uh research and

01:17:08development dollars are so crucial that's what keeps us on the cutting edge of agriculture that's

01:17:14what keeps us the leading production uh per place in the world is the the research and development

01:17:21dollars there's been a great universities like cornell and university of georgia and university of

01:17:26florida you know so uh and then of course our conservation programs this these lands that we accumulate

01:17:33that we have to have to farm on those natural resources and our neighbors that we all are

01:17:39entitled to having protecting that but farming doesn't allow the luxury of a farm to make enough

01:17:46money to do all that protection so conservation programs 140 million acres have been voluntarily put

01:17:52in conservation programs across america that's the size of california and new york because it was

01:17:57voluntary and the government participated in helping us protect those natural resources on the land

01:18:03all those programs and even the uh trade uh part of farm bill where we help uh sell products our

01:18:11products overseas all of those programs are so important to agriculture in the farm bill that's

01:18:17why we got to have we've been kicking this can down the road two years and the uncertainty has caught

01:18:23up with our farmers it's caught up with our bankers and it's going to catch up to the american people

01:18:29mr alderman you've been dealing with all the red tape of the the federal and local governments and state

01:18:34governments what would be your top three things that you'd want to change that would have a positive

01:18:38impact on on your farm

01:18:45you mentioned crop insurance a minute ago okay uh crop insurance needs to be uh analyzed uh

01:18:55uh to take in consideration especially crops that we grow i can lose a whole crop in south florida with

01:19:04a hurricane we did like in october and have crop insurance and still don't qualify for getting paid

01:19:10we take it out every year but crop insurance was written out in the midwest for midwestern farmers

01:19:17has no idea about vegetable farmers in south florida and we just never qualify for any of their uh

01:19:23but we have to have it that that would help um i think the some of the regulations that are coming

01:19:29down from the fda right now from some of my neighbors is it's really scary whether we'll be able to

01:19:35continue farming because of them and if they're going to come inspect everything and every little

01:19:41thing that there's going to be then maybe they should try to help us find out what the problem

01:19:45is and help solve the problem like not coming in i got you now i'm gonna put you in jail

01:19:51uh it's it's really bad because this is america supposed to be free but we've got a government

01:19:56that years ago when i was a kid government actually helped you you had different agencies that help

01:20:02farmers do things and they they survey your land for you and get it level and do so many things

01:20:07for you but today we don't all that's gone but i guess there's some part of it still left but the

01:20:13the inspection part of it with the what the fda is doing is is to one of my neighbors my friends it's uh

01:20:21and it's just last week it's it's terrible it's terrible um what other problems would i have

01:20:30we just want to level play and feel again just make it so that we're competitive with our neighbors

01:20:35to the south and to the north canada grows a lot of hot house tomatoes that compete with us every day

01:20:41on the shelves in the grocery stores we'd like to be you know fair as if i don't want the government

01:20:47to subsidize anything i grow but if we're competing with countries that are subsidizing their farmers

01:20:54do something to make it a level playing field and i'm not smart enough to figure out what that would be

01:20:58you got some economists again but put tariff do put something on it so we're on a level play just get

01:21:05us equal so if you would tell a um somebody going to a grocery store that's buying produce why would

01:21:12they buy an american product rather than a product from china or um or mexico why should they do it

01:21:20number one we've got food safety regulations that we have in every farm out here now i had i hire a

01:21:29full-time person that's all she does is food safety she goes around with swabs measuring stuff every day

01:21:36sending them off to find out our food is safe here the safest food in the world i would not hesitate to

01:21:45you know i that's true you don't know what you're getting from mexico or guatemala or any other

01:21:50countries i've been to those countries and i i see how they farm and what their their safety protocols

01:21:55are which they don't have any uh so that that would be the same and it's fresher if you buy my tomatoes

01:22:03i picked it today and it's in the market tomorrow uh it's not sitting in a cooler for two days three weeks

01:22:09or you know on a trailer coming from wherever from chile it it's picked here it goes to the

01:22:17grocery store warehouse that evening and it's in their store the next day it's fresh so

01:22:25so right now you have to your produce is inspected and we allow people to send produce into our country

01:22:31without an inspection i don't i don't think that's quite true they do inspect loads in the uh coming

01:22:39across the border but they're they're not it's not only the the food safety part of it it it's what

01:22:47i mentioned earlier the invasive insects and diseases we get a new thrip coming into south florida every

01:22:53two years and it takes us three or four years to figure out how to combat or take care of it it's

01:22:57either thrips or or pepper weevils or some new disease a new uh virus coming in on tomatoes from another

01:23:04country i i just i don't know what the answer to it is you can't stop shipping it into you know we've

01:23:11got to have it i guess and it's not only vegetables those diseases and insects come in on plants

01:23:16on flowers and all that stuff comes into the uh port of uh miami miami international airport they get a

01:23:24bad lot of and it goes to a junk man and next thing you know that insect takes over and we're fighting

01:23:29it for the rest of our lives you can't get rid of them so you've been doing this for 45 years

01:23:34probably longer closer to 50. so do you like it

01:23:40why do you like it why do you like being a farmer

01:23:47i like growing things i like to see things grow

01:23:49we're talking about stress earlier

01:24:10i wouldn't

01:24:14i couldn't do anything else

01:24:15i could have been a road builder going into construction in south florida you know how busy

01:24:21it is there uh but i chose agriculture

01:24:34when you go out to the farm do you do is it great to be around the animals

01:24:38well i do have some animals but tomatoes are not animals but i love watching crop grow

01:24:43and uh you know i don't physically do the work anymore but there's nothing on that farm i haven't

01:24:49done from picking to everything there is you know i started with zero and and uh

01:24:56i farm because i love my animals there i mean he and i just had the greatest visit talking cows

01:25:03i mean i i absolutely what kind of cows you have sir that's kind of cows i have uh beef cattle mostly

01:25:10angus yeah got a few white ones here and there that's the most relaxing clearing your head out

01:25:17is go ride and look at the cows take the day you got to drive two hours to my ranches and go count

01:25:24calves look at the cows figure out how much grass you got how much water we got and take care of those

01:25:29animals rotational grazing yeah doing all the right things for the grass and the soil to make sure to

01:25:35grow the grass using chicken litter on my farm for fertilization using comprehensive nutrient

01:25:41management plans as the county extension office help grow your own hay grow my own hay you know i mean

01:25:47it's so rewarding and probably the biggest biggest benefit asset of being a farmer it's being to raise your

01:25:58children there when my son went to war his commanding officer wrote me a handwritten letter and he says

01:26:08when i started working your boy i knew he was from the farm and i wished i had a whole whole troop like

01:26:15him because he had work ethic raises my children on farm making them understand how to take care of not

01:26:23just plants but animals and do it with all your heart as though you were working for the lord not for the

01:26:29man there's nothing more rewarding than that but there's nothing more stressful and disappointing

01:26:37to go to the mailbox pull out all the bills and your paycheck and not have enough to pay the bills with

01:26:44after you put your heart and soul into it and watch your heart break when your children can't come back

01:26:52and do it and make a living we're going to all would love to do it what are we going to lose if

01:26:58we lose our family farms what's the biggest thing we're going to lose we're going to lose the way

01:27:03of life that built this country that and and the uh the values that we learn of loving caring whether

01:27:13the soil people animals just just good old living yeah it's a way of life that can't be replaced it can't

01:27:24be replaced and it's not matched anywhere else you can't buy it you can't sell it just it's you can't

01:27:32replace it yeah well i want to thank everybody for being here um i look forward to continue working with

01:27:39all my uh my fellow senators um if any additional senators have additional questions for the

01:27:45witnesses or statements to be added the hearing record will be open until next wednesday at 5 p.m

01:27:50i want to thank all all of you i think well thank you for being here this is um i i just think farming

01:27:55is just a is uh this a really um rewarding uh opportunity way of life so thanks for being here

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