By Roger Marshall | Commentary, Newsweek
Our farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our economy. Sadly, under the Biden-Harris administration, farmers, ranchers, and rural America have been sidelined. As a Kansan and fifth-generation farm kid, who now serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, the very idea of a candidate who doesn’t understand the value of agriculture is unfit to hold the nuclear codes. Food security is national security, and we need a leader in the White House who realizes the importance of agriculture, trade deals, and the “art of the deal” that gives America the upper hand.
For four years, the Biden-Harris administration has declared war on American agriculture. Their reckless policies have plunged net farm income to its lowest point in decades. The Biden-Harris America-last energy policies and rampant inflation have resulted in skyrocketing input costs, devastating our farmers’ bottom line. Diesel prices and nitrogen-based fertilizers, reliant on natural gas, have become unaffordable.
Interest rates have soared under Biden-Harris. Average operating loan rates for Kansas farmers with good credit have jumped from 2 percent to 9 percent—an increase of 7 percentage points since President Trump left office. This has resulted in $70,000 on average in additional costs for farmers’ bottom lines. The fact is, for four years, our farmers have been an afterthought to this administration, even though they have had to live with the consequences of their policy failures.
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