Supporting Critical Ag Research

Public Research is an essential tool for bolstering growth in our country’s agricultural sector and ensuring long-term national security through strong food security. Studies show that public investment in agricultural research has resulted in annual rates of return between 20 and 60 percent, making it critical for farms across the country. 

I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins highlighting the importance of USDA's Capacity and competitive programs and their role in fostering innovation, fortifying resilient food and agriculture supply chains, and training the next generation of American agricultural leaders.

Like you, I know that food security is national security, and I look forward to working with this Administration and Seventh District farmers to make sure they benefit from the cutting-edge research that makes our agricultural systems some of the best in the world.

Protecting and Strengthening Crop Insurance

As you know, crop insurance is a vital tool for farmers. In an incredibly unpredictable industry, with dramatically fluctuating costs and the ever-present worry about losing crops to a bad weather season or natural disaster, it provides extra protection. My colleagues and I want to improve crop insurance affordability for our producers.

I am a proud co-sponsor of the Federal Agriculture Risk Management Enhancement and Resilience (FARMER) Act, introduced by my friend Congressman Brad Finstad from Minnesota's First District. This legislation increases premium support for the highest levels of coverage and enhances the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO). This will shrink producer deductibles and reduce the need for ad-hoc disaster assistance in the future.

Supporting Strong Renewable Fuels Standards

Congress established the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to give certainty to producers and encourage investment in biofuels. I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump encouraging him to support a strong RFS by adopting timely, robust blending requirements in the upcoming "Set 2" rule establishing Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2026 and beyond.

A strong Set 2 will lower prices at the pump, support market growth for farmers, and drive economic growth. For the upcoming rulemaking, my colleagues and I recommend setting implied conventional biofuel RVOs of at least 15 billion gallons and setting biomass-based diesel RVO at 5.25 billion gallons, increasing in future years to reflect rapid growth in soybean processing capacity.

Moving Food For Peace to USDA

As we work with this Administration to streamline the federal government and root out waste, fraud, and abuse, we need to make sure the good and effective programs are able to continue their work. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had become so overrun by bureaucrats with a woke agenda, that it could no longer operate on its own. While most of its functions and programming will be reviewed by the State Department, Food for Peace program decidedly meets the America First agenda. 

America is stronger when other countries buy our product, and Food for Peace puts American-grown commodities in some of the fastest-growing markets in the world. In Fiscal Year 2023, the United States shipped 1.1 million metric tons of agricultural product under this program. And, importantly, this program counters the international influence of our adversaries, providing food security from the American people in places that are at risk of accepting influence from our adversaries like the Communist Part of China.

It is clearly in the best interests of our producers, economy, and national security to make sure this program continues effectively. I have co-sponsored legislation, the Moving the Food for Peace Act to the Department of Agriculture, to transfer all of the programs functions, grants, responsibilities, licenses, and agreements to be implemented and administered by USDA.

ACRE Act

To increase lending and lower interest rates for people in the rural communities across the Seventh District, I co-sponsored Congressman Feenstra's Access to Credit for Our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act.

This legislation would grant community banks the same tax-exempt status on certain earned-interest that applies to farm credit institutions, allowing farm real estate borrowers and rural homeowners access to lower interest rates. The exemption also applies to single-family home mortgage loans in rural communities with fewer than 2,500 residents and for mortgages less that $750,000.

Modern Ag Caucus

Finally, I'm excited to say that I have joined the Modern Agriculture Caucus. This group works to empower producers, researchers, and small businesses, while ensuring a resilient agricultural system that can stay competitive in an ever-evolving world. I look forward to bringing the Seventh District perspective to these conversations.

Thank you for reading!

fischbach.house.gov

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