Kansas Corn Harvest Report

Floor Speech

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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deliver the 14th installment of my farm bill impact series during a time when the effects of a poor corn harvest in Kansas are only compounded by rising inflation.

Kansas farmers are laboring under the burden of skyrocketing input costs while they work hard to keep our country fed, fueled, and clothed, and they deserve workable solutions to this inflation crisis before the situation gets any worse. Farming is already a risky, volatile business without the added burden of inflation, and USDA estimates that input costs will continue to rise to astronomical rates throughout 2022 and beyond.

For an example of the risk of volatility in farming, the corn harvest is underway in some parts of Kansas, and the results are a fraction of the yield that farmers hope for and bank on during normal seasons. The farm bill which Congress will reauthorize in 2023 exists, in part, specifically for situations like this current corn crop to provide energy assistance to our ag producers even when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.

The weather in Kansas can be extreme and unpredictable, which means that growing corn can be a very difficult prospect. Kansas is suffering from a major drought right now. According to the USDA, for the week ending September 11, only 14 percent of Kansas topsoil was rated as adequate. And USDA rated the corn condition 27 percent very poor, 27 percent poor, 24 percent fair, 20 percent good, and only 2 percent excellent. Meanwhile, according to Drought Monitor, 34 counties in my district alone are in extreme drought, and 16 are in exceptional drought.

The farther west you go in Kansas, Mr. Speaker, the worse it gets. Even irrigated fields are having issues, and far more corn crops than normal will be complete losses. Many Kansas producers are saying that this is the worst corn harvest in recent memory. This is a dire situation. Farmers invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in producing this essential crop, and its failure means that farmers are left wondering how they are going to put food on the table and pay for gas to drive their kids to school. To make matters worse, consumers end up without access to many of the products that they have learned to enjoy and on which they depend.

This is where farm bill programs like crop insurance come in. Crop insurance serves producers and consumers alike because it helps prevent producers from going out of business and grocery store aisles from sitting empty. Farm bill programs like crop insurance have secured our national food supply and helped generations of producers avoid bankruptcy when times get tough. We are in one of those times right now. Inflation is skyrocketing in America, President Biden is trying to impose his farm killer tax and dismantle the stepped-up basis, and producers are going out of business. The need to reauthorize the farm bill for 2023 has come at a critical moment in time.

A bad harvest in Kansas isn't just about money. It is about morale and spirit. Missing harvest time in Kansas doesn't just mean missing out on the yield of a cash crop. It means missing out on a special Kansas tradition of celebrating the culmination of all of your family's hard work. It creates financial insecurity while leaving a void where a renewal of family camaraderie should be. Washington, D.C., unfortunately, doesn't understand this. This city has never been crippled by something like a lost harvest.

D.C. moves right along through drought, heat, late winter snows, and torrential downpours unfazed. That is why I am standing here today, to remind Congress that 1 in 10 employed Americans--nearly 20 million people in this country--work in food and agriculture where weather creates a make-or-break situation for their livelihoods. And, most importantly, every American has to eat.

American agricultural producers are hurting not only from skyrocketing input costs that come from inflation, but also from lowered morale that comes from extreme heat, drought, thin margins, and a broken supply chain. In 2023, Congress must reauthorize the farm bill with American farm families at the front of their minds because they are in a crisis.

I will be back on the floor soon to deliver another installment of my farm bill impact series and highlight more programs and titles within the bill that I believe Congress must understand and support to ensure that agriculture thrives in America. The people who feed, fuel, and clothe us all deserve our unwavering support. They also deserve a robust safety net in the farm bill and workable solutions to the inflation crisis before it is too late.

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