During the National Farmer’s Union Convention, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays had the opportunity to visit with the organization’s president, Rob Larew, to discuss three priorities called the NFU’s Special Order of Business.
In 2025, the first priority is centered around the prospect of a new farm bill. Larew provided details on the group’s collective views. “We know that we need changes to the existing safety net. We know that the current farm bill is inadequate for today’s conditions. We want to make sure that Congress doesn’t take their eye off of the ball with getting a farm bill finished, and make sure that it is strong enough and relevant for the next five years.”
The next priority concerns fairness for farmers. It relates to farmers’ rights to repair, mandatory country of origin labeling and preventing monopolies from becoming commonplace in the food and ag industries to keep things fair for farmers.
Of the latter, Larew said, “We are actually pretty bullish on this because I think President Trump not only understands America first but also understands that monopolies can invoke too much power out there.”
Looking positively at the people President Trump has placed in the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the USDA, NFU’s membership is generally optimistic about the new administration’s willingness to push back on monopolies.
Regarding country-of-origin labeling, Larew was encouraged when Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed his support of the action during Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins’s confirmation hearing.
“We are seeing a lot stronger support as a result of that,” Larew shared. “We are hoping to build support in the House of Representatives for it. In the past, President Trump has also signaled support for this, and along with that America first agenda, we think it is a perfect fit, so we are really hopeful.”
WTO compliance has long been the biggest barrier to country-of-origin labeling. More about that here.
Larew is encouraged by the WTO’s diminishing relevance. He said, “I think that there are creative minds out there that can craft this in such a way that it can be both WTO compliant and serve the American farmer and rancher.”
The third priority is broadly related to the uncertainty surrounding federal programs that aid farmers. Most of the unrest has been brought on by funding freezes and reduced staffing in county offices. “While we don’t know what the final outcome of that will be, we know that we need the federal government to show us the game plan and make sure that they are communicating it to USDA. For example, we want to help the ag committees in the House and the Senate understand what USDA is doing,” Larew commented.
He highlighted how the currently limited information being shared with farmers is adding to the uncertainty of the ag community. With low commodity prices and high input costs, farmers and ranchers need to know they can rely on federal aid programs.
He noted that leaders in both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are also frustrated with the lack of information coming out of the USDA and are seeking more clarity and transparency about many things being done through DOGE.
Larew expressed disappointment that the farm bill still hasn’t reached completion and emphasized the importance of help from the executive branch to get it finalized. He pointed out cuts being made to the ag committee, saying that an even stronger farm bill is becoming more and more important in the current environment.
He mentioned that he understands that Trump’s application of tariffs is to encourage demand for more domestic manufacturing, but he also acknowledged how it will raise farmer input costs and depress market prices.
“Farmers’ Union supports that. We want good U.S. paying jobs here, but we can’t do it by pushing farmers out of business,” Larew stated. “Even though we were pleased with the last Trump administration for putting the market facilitation payments in place, there is no guarantee that that money will be there. Secondly, farmers would much rather get their return out of the marketplace rather than a handout.”
Commenting on the current mood of NFU members, Larew said that it depends on what they produce as cattle producers are experiencing very strong markets while row crop producers are struggling under thin margins; however, most operations are diversified with the production of both, so the stress of uncertainty is prevalent across the board.
“It is all about trying to bring more certainty out of our federal government,” Larew said. “As farmers and ranchers, we face enough uncertainty on a daily basis.”
Larew spoke more about engaging and encouraging the next generation of producers and said that it boils down to making the farm profitable for sustainability because, at the end of the day, it is a business. Click the listen bar at the top of the page to hear the complete conversation.
