| Reason to be Proud |
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| The Sugar Beat |
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Reason to be Proud
 As a new crop of legislators get settled in to their new digs on Capitol Hill, farmers and ranchers from across the country are left wondering what the future holds with so much political uncertainty.Given the new watchwords for Congress—fiscal discipline, economic recovery, and national security—one would think the future looks bright for agriculture in general and sugar in particular.
The sugar industry is very closely tied to each of the themes listed above.
It’s hard to be more fiscally disciplined than costing taxpayers $0 as sugar policy has done every year of the 2002 Farm Bill and the 2008 Farm Bill, and is projected to do through 2020. And agriculture as a whole has a wonderful story to tell here, too.
Farmers and ranchers are among the only people to see budgets cut in the name of deficit reduction—remember the $6 billion cut to crop insurance last year that was described to rural America as “doing our part to trim the federal debt.”
And the safety net is among the few taxpayer-funded programs that have come in under budget. The story gets even stronger when you consider how rural America turns this modest investment into an economic river that ripples jobs and capital from the heartland out to both coasts.
More than 21 million U.S. jobs are rooted in agriculture—for comparison, that’s more than the U.S. automotive manufacturing, sales, and service sectors combined. There are roughly 146,000 in sugar alone, which is nothing to shake a stick at.
This year, farmers and ranchers will produce $332 billion worth of goods after they have spent $187 billion to purchase inputs, made $62 billion in rent payments, paid $26.2 billion in wages to employees, and spent $14 billion in interest and financing.
And, agriculture remains one of the lone bright spots in America’s trade portfolio. With the USDA predicting an all-time record high of $126.5 billion in farm exports this year, farmers and ranchers are doing their part to offset the country’s staggering trade deficit.
That is the face of economic recovery, and it’s not a recipe that should be altered by Congress or undercut with a weakened Farm Bill.
If a handful of farm policy opponents have their way and are successful in upending this success story, there’s a lot more at stake than jobs and trade stats. America could literally be at the doorstep of one of the worst national disasters we’ve ever faced.
A nation’s ability to feed and clothe itself is at the center of national security. For proof, just think back to the victory gardens and sugar rationing coupons that dominated the home front during World War II.
We knew then that farmers were the producers of the basic necessities we all need to live. That realization was the catalyst to our modern-day farm policies, which help protect our family farmers from the uncontrollable whims of Mother Nature or the ebbs and flows of volatile markets.
Maybe some farm policy critics need a history lesson or at least a basic education in the great success story we call U.S. agriculture.
Expect the National Farmers Union to be at the forefront of this education process in 2011. Agriculture has a proud tradition, a bright future, and a lot of reason to be proud.
Congress can keep it all intact by maintaining a strong safety net and extending the successful no-cost sugar policy.
About the author: Roger Johnson is the former agriculture commissioner from North Dakota and currently serves as president of the National Farmers Union, a national farm organization that has been a vocal supporter of U.S. sugar policy.
Note: This article appeared in the February issue of Sugar Producer Magazine.
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