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FSA administrator: cattle producers need help

Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux says cattle producers need help as packers collect record margins. Ducheneaux says he’s had talks with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack on how to better the cattle market for producers.

He tells Brownfield while FSA has a limited ability to provide regulatory guidance, the agency can benefit producers in other areas.

“How do we fine tune our loan programs to put more income in the producers’ pockets, how do we broaden our loan programs to be able to serve more producers,” Ducheneaux said. “Because, the FSA loan program, as you may be aware, is the best deal in town right now.”

Ducheneaux said producers and rural communities will likely continue to struggle without a market shift.

“Most of our producers generate most of their income off the farm,” he said. “And until we start to address that issue, we’re not going to have the vibrant rural communities that we all have come to know and depend on to provide food and nutrition for the rest of us.”

Ducheneaux said FSA will remain focused on delivering programs that support producers’ bottom lines.