Support America’s Sugarbeet and Sugarcane Farmers and Workers
Strong sugar policy helps to support America’s sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers and workers who supply food manufacturers and consumers with American-made sugar. Much has changed since the last five-year Farm Bill was passed in 2018, and the new Farm Bill should reflect the realities farmers and ranchers currently face as they feed, fuel, and clothe America and so much of the world. Waiting to pass a new five-year Farm Bill would be a mistake.
Sugar producers need a stronger Farm Bill due to substantial increases in the cost of production. Understanding this staggering rise in production costs is crucial for crafting a Farm Bill that truly addresses the needs of our producers. In fact, USDA is projecting the largest two-year decline in cash income for farmers and ranchers since the Great Depression.
How Has Inflation Increased the Costs for America’s Sugarbeet and Sugarcane Farmers and Workers?
Two well-respected experts, Drs. Deliberto and DeLong from Louisiana State University and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, respectively, analyzed the escalating costs of production for sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers and examined how inflation has increased the cost of planting, cultivating, and harvesting since the last Farm Bill:
They found that the costs of growing sugarbeets and sugarcane have drastically increased by more than 30%.
Sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers and workers stand ready to work with the Senate and House Agriculture Committees to encourage Congress to deliver a strong, bipartisan five-year Farm Bill that delivers a strengthened safety net for sugar producers will help us keep it sweet in America.
Support America’s Sugarbeet and Sugarcane Farmers and Workers
Significantly higher production costs and greater weather challenges have made it harder for family farms to survive. The level of farm assistance has fallen to its lowest level relative to farm income since 1981. It is clear the current suite of farm programs is fraying at the edges. Waiting to advance a five-year Farm Bill puts our food and agricultural system at risk.
That is why farm and ranch families are urgently calling on Congress to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill that delivers greater certainty for rural America, provides a stronger farm safety net, and strengthens our national food security.
The sugar policy in the Farm Bill must ensure that America’s farmers and workers have a strong and supportive safety net to continue growing sugar crops and producing an essential ingredient in our food supply, maintain resilient supply chains, and meet the needs of American families and all of our customers.
- America’s 11,000 sugarbeet and sugarcane family farmers support more than 151,000 good jobs in both urban and rural areas.
- America’s sugarbeet and sugarcane farm families drive more than $23 billion in annual economic impact.
- Sugar policy costs taxpayers $0.
- Smart sugar policy allows American sugarbeet and sugarcane family farmers to compete against heavily subsidized foreign sugar industries.
- Keeping a strong safeguard for domestic sugar in the Farm Bill is critical to the stability of farming families and our national food security.
Hear from Sugarbeet and Sugarcane Farmers and Workers About the Importance of a Strong Farm Bill
