Schweitzer: House Farm Bill contains little impactful support for farmers

Even after several years of debate, the House version of the Farm Bill passed today does little to address the crisis in which farmers and ranchers find themselves, Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer said Thursday.

“Because of the tariffs and the war in Iran, Farm Country is in dire straits and needs immediate assistance. The farm bill does not address the crisis we are in. They are calling it a ‘skinny’ farm bill. In cattle country, if you see a skinny animal, it is malnourished or sick. This farm bill is both,” Schweitzer said.

“Because of the tariffs, we have lost markets, and this farm bill does very little to address it. We have surpluses of food with no markets, and we have starving children, and this bill ignores both. This farm bill has a provision that is a clear violation to the Packers and Stockyards Act; A-Plus would allow corporate feeders and livestock auction yards to own packing plants. It should be called a D-minus. The House put multinational packers ahead of consumers when they rejected reinstating mandatory country of origin labeling. MFU encourages the Senate to fix the Farm Bill and send it back to the House, ” Schweitzer added.