News

Senators push for additional COVID-19 aid to states to help farmers

A bipartisan group of Washington lawmakers wants the Senate’s next COVID-19 relief package to contain more funding for states to assist farmers.  Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin tells Brownfield other aid programs are not flexible enough to deal with the impacts of the coronavirus on farmers. “We are seeing food supply chain disruptions that result in our food pantries and grocery stores not having enough for what consumers need, and farmers not necessarily having a place to sell their products.”     

Baldwin says the Farming Support to States Act should be part of the Senate’s next COVID-19 relief package because it allows unique solutions tailored to each region of the country, “by channeling dollars through the state departments of ag and having stakeholders in the food supply chain really come up with the tactical solutions to these problems.”

Baldwin says the Farming Support to States Act has support from members of both parties including Republican Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall.

Baldwin and other supporters urged Congressional leadership to support the legislation in a letter this week.