Submission by the National Farmers Union on The Farm Income Crisis, Business Risk Management, and The “Next Generation” Agricultural Policy Framework (APF II)

The current Agricultural Policy Framework (APF), in particular, represents a major concern for our membership. During the past five years since the APF was implemented, there has been a dramatic decline in the viability of family farm operations across the country. Not only have farmgate prices declined for most major commodities, but input prices for machinery, seed, fertilizer and credit have increased while infrastructure and regulatory costs have been downloaded directly onto farmers. Any discussion of a 3 Business Risk Management (BRM) strategy as part of the APF, therefore, must take into account the full extent of this farm income crisis.