Farm bill makes sense for U.S. producers

I strongly support the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 that was approved by the House Agriculture Committee, and urge the House of Representatives to pass this bill without any damaging amendments to farm policy.

Short-term extensions or lapses in farm policy would be disruptive and damaging to me as a producer and to the businesses in our rural community that support our agriculture production, processing, and marketing sectors.

The Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 includes critically important policies for cotton producers and the entire U.S. cotton industry. A strong farm bill helps support a healthy and thriving rural economy that includes cotton gins, warehouses, marketing coops and merchants to market the crop, cottonseed handlers, and textile manufacturers.

This bill also strengthens the policies for Pima or extra-long staple cotton, grown in parts of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, by improving cash flow through the loan program until I can market my crop. The bill also provides resources to help promote and expand the use and demand for Pima cotton in the United States and globally.

As a farmer, I rely on the certainty and predictability of a farm bill to obtain the financing necessary for capital investments and annual crop production. Without strong commodity and crop insurance policies underpinning U.S. agriculture, lenders would be reluctant to provide financing to an industry operating at the mercy of weather extremes and volatile global market prices, and in competition with heavily subsidized and protected foreign producers.

The current trade tensions further underscore the importance of having a strong, predictable farm policy. Cotton is a heavily export dependent crop with nearly all our production exported in some form — from raw cotton to textile products. This farm bill continues important policies to help U.S. producers compete in a highly competitive global marketplace. BRADLEY HARRISON, COTTON PRODUCER Yuma, Arizona