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U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, recently made a speech in Congress on West Texas priorities to be considered in the next Farm Bill.

In addition, he wrote a letter to House Agriculture Committee chairman Mike Conaway, R-Midland.

Following are excerpts from his speech:

“Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent a rural district in West Texas that is home to 14 million acres of farmland and thousands of hardworking farmers and ranchers. ...

“As we craft the next farm bill, there are a few priorities that, if achieved, will put our United States farmers and ranchers, and our country as a whole, in the strongest, most competitive position.

“The first is, we must maintain America's food and fiber independence from other countries, which, like energy independence, is a national security imperative.

“To achieve this objective, we must maintain a viable and responsible safety net for all commodities, which means the committee must work in a bipartisan way to get cotton back in under Title 1 of the Farm Bill, and we can never again let the World Trade Organization dictate agriculture policy to the United States. ...

“Additionally, as Texas is the top cattle producing state in the nation and represents over $10 billion in annual cash receipts nationwide, maintaining key livestock disaster programs are equally important to a responsible and effective safety net for our ag producers.

“Second, our rural communities need greater access to broadband communications to be viable in the modern era.

“Increasing access to broadband is fundamental to the survival of rural America. It is necessary to support critical infrastructure such as health care and education, and for overall economic sustainability so that we can finally close the digital divide between rural and urban America. ...

“Third, we need another generation of farmers and ranchers.

“The American agriculturist is facing tough times.

“The average age of the farmer is nearly 60 and the number of people involved in ag production in their 30's and 40's continues to decrease dramatically, and this, with less than 1 percent of the American population involved in ag production.

“The math doesn't look promising.

“Operating expenses continue to rise and farmers, particularly the young ones, have less equity to finance their operations.

“Farmers of all ages need a dependable and flexible operating loan structure with loan amounts that are useful, and we must work to ensure that USDA has the flexibility it needs to extend credit in the most meaningful way.

“Fourth, innovation makes it possible for the farmer and rancher to continue to operate.

“Ensuring adequate and equitable research funding for agriculture colleges across the country is key. ...

“Lastly, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program needs more focused accountability.

“As we craft the next farm bill, we should continue to monitor the effectiveness of all programs, but especially SNAP, which accounts for 80 percent of all spending in the farm bill."

https://www.reporternews.com/story/news/2017/12/17/arrington-outlines-his-priorities-farm-bill/957736001/