The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President and wheat farmer Brent Cheyne testified in front of the House Agricultural Subcommittee at the “Producer Perspective on the 2023 Farm Bill” hearing.
Cheyne spoke on general farm commodities, risk management and credit, where he highlighted NAWG’s primary farm bill priorities. One of the most important pieces he put under the spotlight was maintaining and enhancing crop insurance, both in terms of effectiveness and costs for farmers, says a release from NAWG.
“Farming is a risky business requiring a strong safety net,” said Cheyne in the release. “Wheat farmers rely on the certainty of the crop insurance program. In turn, the American people can depend on farmers who are able to continue to withstand natural disasters and produce the most stable food supply in the world.”
In addition, Cheyne talked about NAWG’s request to increase the PLC reference price, which has remained unchanged for wheat.
“Prices have now risen to the point that it would take a 62% decrease in prices before being caught by the safety net of PLC. When prices fall that far, there’s effectively no safety net at all for farmers,” Cheyne said.
Read Brent Cheyne’s written testimony or watch the hearing.
