While Milwaukee is getting political attention with the Republican National Convention, some Wisconsin farmers are in Washington, D.C., trying to get staff focused on the farm bill.
Don Lutz from Iola is a Wisconsin soybean grower making his case. He says he’s focused on crop insurance security levels and new international markets for Wisconsin beans.
Lutz explains that the House has proposed a version of the farm bill. The Senate has two bills to decide between. He says regardless of what lawmakers decide on, he wants to see stronger safety nets.
“We’re looking to bring up that support level price,” he explains. “The support level price is so low right now that even when things kick in, if there’s some type of a financial hardship on agriculture, it’s not enough to kick in and make any difference.”
Lutz references a Texas A&M professor when he says farmers get an average of $4,700 per farm when crop insurance kicks in. Lutz says that sum “pays for diesel fuel for maybe a month.”
He and a handful of growers from the Wisconsin Soybean Association and other farm groups also stopped at the Moroccan Embassy.
Lutz explains that Morocco, a country in northwest Africa, was depending on supplies of wheat byproducts from Ukraine to feed their livestock, but those supplies have dried up. Since then, they’ve been importing soybean as a source of quality protein.
Wisconsin and Minnesota growers met with the Moroccan Embassy to explain that local farmes can provide a reliable supply of high-quality soybeans and export the beans via the Great Lakes. In return, the Great Lakes region could import Morocco’s phosphate fertilizer, bolstering supply to reduce input costs on the farm.
