The Strength of American Agriculture

Floor Speech

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to host this Special Order during National Agriculture Month on the strength of American agriculture. I am inspired by the American farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers who feed, fuel, and clothe not only this country but the entire world.

I grew up on a farm south of Quinter, Kansas, that my parents and brother still operate. Growing up there meant that I spent thousands of hours on a tractor working in fields and on horseback doctoring sick cattle in the family feed yard. Those hours turned into love of country and lessons about the values of hard work, creativity, flexibility, and putting others before ourselves.

My district, the Big First of Kansas, is home to more than 60,000 farms where farmers, ranchers, feedlot managers, ethanol producers, ag lenders, and agribusiness owners ensure that America remains the most food-secure country in the world.

As Congress becomes increasingly urban, the distance from farm to fork has never been greater, and since America's national security depends in large part on our food security, we need strong voices for agriculture in this Congress, which is why I am honored to serve on the House Agriculture Committee and to host this Special Order tonight.

If Congress is going to legislate effectively on matters relating to agriculture, Congress must first understand the agricultural perspective in America. There is something about being in the middle of the country where farmers pray for rain, parents drive 30 miles both ways just to take their kids to school, and communities shrink and grow with oil and gas prices that gives you a greater perspective.

House Agriculture Committee Republican leader GT Thompson and I just returned from a trip to my district. While there, we saw an American heartland infused with both the innovative energy that creates new ideas and the love of tradition that respects tried-and-true methods. We saw the USDA National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility that will take American agriculture into the future, and we met with the family who owns and operates Brookover Feed Yards, one of the first feedlots in Kansas. We also saw oil production, ag lending, ethanol production, wheat innovation, and the next generation of leaders in food and agriculture at Kansas State University.

I look forward to celebrating the culmination of National Agriculture Month with my colleagues here tonight as we celebrate the force, passion, and strength of American agriculture.

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Thompson for being here tonight and sharing with us thoughts about Pennsylvania agriculture. It is very important to this country.

I always appreciate his perspectives of Washington State agriculture and what he brings to this body.

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman. His leadership in agriculture, his leadership for the Western Caucus are very, very important, and I thank him for joining us tonight.

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for joining us tonight. And as you were reading that, I thought about my family, my grandparents and many producers all over America that that describes. Thank you very much for sharing that.

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Illinois for joining us tonight.

He and his family operate a dairy farm; lives at the dairy.

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for joining us tonight.

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for joining us, and representing Texas in such a legacy of agriculture in a great State.

Mr. Speaker, I thank everyone who spoke today for helping Congress understand an agricultural perspective. As Dwight Eisenhower--who was from my State, from my district--said, Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you are a thousand miles away from a cornfield. Today, it felt like the Members who spoke on this floor brought the farm a little closer to Capitol Hill, and for that, I thank them.

Congress uses the reauthorization of the farm bill every 5 years to determine the nature of our support for the men and women who feed, fuel, and clothe the world. America's food security is so important because it determines the strength of our national security. We will never be a secure country if we have to rely on other countries to feed ourselves.

Because of the tenacity of the American farmer, we are the most food secure country in the world, and I will do everything in my power to keep it that way.

As Congress determines how we will support farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers in the 2023 farm bill, I encourage Members to imagine how different their lives would be without healthy American agriculture. From the food on our tables to the fuel in our cars to the fibers in our clothing to the roofs over our head, agriculture is all around us, and we tend to take it for granted.

Well, it isn't granted. It is gifted. Every day American farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers give us the gift of our quality of life in this country. Our comforts come from the sweat of their brows. The least this Congress can do is support their efforts wholeheartedly with a strong thoughtful 2023 farm bill and related legislation. The future of America depends on it.

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