US Sens. Ted Cruz, John Boozman discuss 2023 Farm Bill during Amarillo visit

United States Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and John Boozman of Arkansas spoke with agricultural leaders Tuesday evening about the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill at the Texas Cattle Feeders Association in Amarillo.

The Farm Bill is negotiated every five years and is legislation that impacts nationwide farmers, covering programs like crop insurance, supporting sustainable farming practices and other issues critical to agriculture. Also falling under a massive part of the umbrella of the farm bill are farm subsidies and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Both Republican senators were in the middle of a three-day statewide agriculture tour; Boozman is the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. Cruz is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Boozman praised the efforts of U.S. farmers providing the cheapest, safest, food supply in the world. He said that the farm bill makes sure that they have the tools that they need to provide the nation with food.

Risk management for these farmers was a big concern for Boozman in the farm bill, which encompasses crop insurance to protect the farmers from outside factors that could put them out of business.

“The world is very different now than it was a year and a half ago,” Boozman said. “We have seen this with tremendous inflation. We have to get those risk management tools, whether it is crop insurance or the others, up to date, and that’s really how we can help our farm community the most, to make sure that for the next five years, they’ll have the ability to weather the storm essentially.”

He said that decreased commodity prices, weather and fuel prices make risk management more difficult for farmers.

Agreeing with the need to strengthen crop insurance, Cruz said that the data needs to be updated on which this insurance relies upon to respond to current situations.

“One thing we have also heard is concerns about disaster relief,” Cruz said. "These disasters can befall a farmer or a rancher and the delays where Congress can act to provide disaster relief.”

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Cruz stressed the need for the country to have better control of its pricing while keeping operating costs down.

“If you are farming or ranching, you cannot control global commodity prices," Cruz said. “These can change on a dime and be outside of your control, and we do not want that for the strength and security of Texas or the strength and security of our nation. We do not want farmers and ranchers being driven out of business. We do not want America to be dependent on foreign nations to be able to feed our people.”

Cruz said that trade is essential for the future of farming, and opening up markets to Texas farmers and ranchers is a priority for him.

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Also, speaking about the cost of fuel, Cruz blamed the current administration for what he called an attack on the oil industry, which has led to an increase in prices. Even with producing the most fuel in the country’s history, gas prices have remained high, which has been positive for oil company profits but a major detriment to farmers dependent on fuel for their farms.

“We have a divided Congress, so will there be a battle on it?" Cruz said. "Almost certainly, because it seems we have a battle on figuring out what time of day it is. But I hope and believe we will get it done, and I think we need to get it done.”

Boozman said that while it's not a one-size-fits-all all approach to come up with the bill, he was confident that both sides can come up with a good bill. He said that the data that the previous farm bill was put together with was no longer accurate, so there is a great need to update the bill and produce solutions.

“We do have to work together, Democrats and Republicans, to come up with a product that everybody can live with, that we can all be proud of,” Boozman added.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Farm Bill discussed by Senators Ted Cruz, John Boozman in Amarillo