WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a lifelong family farmer and a member of the Senate Finance and Agriculture Committees, joined Iowa Appraisal's “Land Talker TV” with Jim Rothermich to discuss tariffs, safety nets for farmers and the importance of agriculture.

Video and excerpts of Grassley's remarks follow.

 

On Tariffs and the U.S-UK Trade Agreement:

“For 50 years, I was member of a majority of free traders in the Congress of the United States. Now, the political wind has turned more protectionist, and I'm in a minority. But I also know that President Trump campaigned to increase tariffs, and he's in the process of doing that.

“I always thought it was better to negotiate. [Trump] thinks it’s better to level the playing field, force people to the table. [It] seems like he's having pretty good luck with 110 countries wanting to negotiate, and serious negotiation going on with 18 countries, of which China and, right now, England and the rest of Europe kind of stands out. In regard to England, I think getting more cars in there and more of our beef in there is quite an accomplishment.

“I think that we always have to remember that, when there's retaliation against tariffs that the United States puts on, it usually hurts agriculture more. And then the president's answer to that is, ‘Well, we'll appropriate more money out of the federal treasury.’ Well, that gets back to the fact that farmers want to get their money from the marketplace, not from the federal treasury.

“So that's what's led me to the EPA and talking to Director Zeldin about that very point. If we could overcome the mistakes that the Biden administration [did] putting just 3.1 billion gallons of mandated use of biodiesel, get that up to about five or 5.5 billion gallons, it would help soybean prices.”

On Emergency Economic Payment to Farmers:

“I hope we can get market prices up. I hope we get reference pricing in the Farm Bill up, at least to reflect [the] increased cost of production and things of that nature. I think those are necessary forerunners. And if we do an adequate job of the safety net, an adequate job of getting markets, not hurting farmers with these trade issues that are going on in the Congress of the United States, [then] hopefully we don't need that emergency aid.”

On the Importance of Agriculture:

“Something I always want to remind people in agriculture: two percent of us produce the food for the other 98 percent. The two percent have to speak very, very loud – way beyond what you'd normally feel comfortable – talking about the importance of agriculture, the importance of the institution of the family farm, the importance of making sure that we keep the family farm strong, and things of that nature.

“We just don't have enough people speaking up for agriculture. I lost the only other grain farmer that was in the United States Senate, a Democrat from Montana. So that leaves me alone talking about grain and what we call commodities… There's just not a big, loud voice in Washington, D.C., for agriculture. And what there is here needs the full support of the other two percent of the people that are in agriculture. So, speak up, speak up loud.”

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