Read the Op-Ed in Agri-Pulse

As a dairy farmer, I’ve seen firsthand how rising costs, natural disasters, and global instability have impacted farming communities over the last few years. The needs of our farmers and rural communities have shifted, and so should Congress’ spending priorities. As we continue working on government funding for fiscal year 2024, we cannot leave our farmers and rural communities behind.

We have an opportunity to strengthen our food supply, counter the threat of foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, support rural communities, and reinvest in agricultural research by passing the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, legislation that’s part of a six-bill funding package.

Food security is national security, and this bill provides critical funding for the programs our farmers rely on. Just last year, many of the farmers in California’s Central Valley were impacted by severe storms and flooding in California. Our local Farm Service Agencies were on the frontlines of helping many of these impacted folks access resources and the disaster assistance they needed to make up for losses. Our agriculture appropriations bill prioritizes more boots on the ground in these county offices instead of more bureaucrats in D.C.

Increased ownership of U.S. farmland by foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party is an alarmingly growing trend that poses a risk to our food security. Farmers in the Central Valley produce a quarter of our nation’s food with less than one percent of our nation’s farmland. We cannot sit idly by while China strategically purchases the rich land in our own backyard, jeopardizing our nation’s national security and giving the CCP control over our food supply. Our bill addresses this emerging threat by improving the tracking system of foreign-owned land. It also adds the Secretary of Agriculture to the review process on the Committee of Foreign Investments and creates a notification for agricultural land transactions that could pose a national security concern.

Investing in agricultural research so that farmers can efficiently and safely produce food is critical to ensuring high-quality, safe products for consumers. Our adversaries are heavily investing in research and development, and if we don’t fund our own programs at home, we’ll lose our competitive edge in food production. There’s important work being done at Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Centers across the country, including in Parlier, California, where I’ve seen firsthand how they are working to improve the quality of Central Valley agriculture. The bill provides adequate funding for ARS centers and land-grant universities to conduct important agricultural research to ensure American producers remain competitive.

In addition to safeguarding and strengthening our food supply, this legislation invests in rural development across the country, including rural broadband and housing. As families increasingly rely on the Internet for healthcare, school, and work, many rural communities are left behind without access to reliable, high-speed internet. This bill makes critical investments in rural broadband deployment to ensure our rural communities have the resources they need to thrive. The legislation also provides adequate funding for USDA programs that help increase the supply of affordable housing in rural communities, in addition to funding rental assistance for affordable housing for 270,000 low-income families and seniors in rural communities.

American families are being forced to do more with less due to declining wages and rising costs. Each month, when families sit down to budget, tough decisions are made. As appropriators, we also make tough decisions in deciding how to fund government programs with limited resources. Importantly, this legislation reduces wasteful spending and refocuses resources to meet today’s needs. The bill rescinds unspent COVID funds from underutilized programs and reduces inflated pandemic-era funding levels, all while maintaining critical food safety net programs for low-income Americans who need them most.

In the face of rising input costs, natural disasters, and global instability, our farmers continue to grow the food that feeds the nation and much of the world. Congress now has an opportunity to reduce wasteful spending, make important improvements, and invest in programs that help our farmers and rural communities with the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.