Mobile Courant

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) questioned Christian Good, owner of Christian Good Farms in Mississippi, on the challenges and opportunities in agriculture for young and beginning farmers during a Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade hearing. Key concerns highlighted by many young producers include access to capital, farmland, and base acres necessary to qualify for commodity programs such as the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC).

Senator Tuberville remarked, “Thanks for being here today. Great topics. Farm Bill and the future of our nation’s agriculture industry. I get very depressed when I go home to Alabama. Obviously, farmers put food on our tables, but unfortunately a lot of people across this country think that all the crops and the meat come from outback of Walmart and Publix and Piggly Wiggly. They need to wake up and smell the roses before it’s too late."

Tuberville continued to address issues faced by farmers: "We have hardworking people that believe in conservation. The EPA is unbelievably hard on our farmers, unfortunately. They need help. Everywhere I go, they need help with rising input costs, fluctuating prices. They can’t control the weather, obviously. Costs are up and income [is] coming down […] in the last few years we’ve lost 25,000 farmers that have left the industry and over 150,000 farms have closed."

The senator posed a question regarding a provision in the Farm Bill allowing for a one-time allocation of base acres to growers using planting history from 2019 to 2023: “Do you see this opportunity to access base as encouraging to beginning producers? What impact will this have from an economic perspective?”

Christian Good responded affirmatively: “Absolutely, great question Senator. I see the opportunity, especially in the House provision where they have an update of base for everybody... And so, to have the safety net... it’s a foundational piece to be able to build that risk management portfolio.”

Tuberville further discussed equipment costs: “And it’s hard to understand how just in the last two or three years the prices of this equipment has doubled and tripled and quadrupled in amount of money... Do you see that? Are you hearing that from people that you work around?”

Good confirmed these observations: “Absolutely... Just on my farm operation... with this technology there’s additional costs... So with farmers we’re putting an increasing amount of our budget into equipment.”

Tuberville also touched upon tax policy's importance for farm families: “[There are] over 20,000 young and beginning producers in Alabama—20,000... Can you speak to the importance of extending President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions—such as the increased Estate Tax exemption...”

Good emphasized sound tax policy's significance: “Absolutely... When I think about my wife Laura and my two boys Caleb and Peter... So we are my family is in full support of the step-up [in] basis..."

Concluding his remarks, Tuberville stated: “Well God bless all farmers because you don’t get a lot of help… thanks for what y’all do…”

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of several committees including Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP.