OMAHA (DTN) -- Jennifer James was the last of 11 farmers to testify Wednesday before a marathon session of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee.

Her testimony was the hardest to hear.

Farmers representing corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, sorghum, peanuts, sugar beets and barley all talked about the per-acre financial losses their fellow producers are facing. The presidents of the American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union also advocated for a unified cause.

Leaders of major agricultural groups said a growing number of farmers are still struggling to obtain operating loans for the 2025 planting season, and some producers likely won't qualify for those loans.

Each farmer who testified called for Congress to pass a new farm bill this year with a stronger safety net, such as higher reference prices and improvements to crop insurance.

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., presiding over his first hearing as chairman of the committee, noted he had sat through countless hours of hearings in the past.

"I don't think I've ever heard more uniform testimony, and it's across the board," Boozman said. "You just demonstrated how difficult it is in rural America right now doing what you do."

James, an Arkansas farmer and board member for USA Rice, said rice farmers in her area are projected to lose $345 an acre this year. Rice farmers are facing their fourth consecutive year of negative margins, she said. Corn and soybeans are also projected to lose $250-$280 an acre, James said.

"Nothing in my area pencils out. This is not economically sustainable," she said.

Last year was her 30th crop, and she said it was the most difficult her family has faced financially despite good yields for rice. Her voice trembling, James told senators who were present: "Just last week, we had one of the most difficult business conversations my family has had. Is farming really worth it? What scares me is we are only one farm family of thousands having these conversations."

James mentioned her son giving up baseball in high school because he didn't want to miss spring planting season. "Farming is all he has ever wanted to do, and I want to see to it he is able to follow his dream," she said.

"Unless things change drastically, without a relevant safety net, farm families will have no choice but to continue to ask for more ad-hoc assistance. We cannot continue to head to the field and plant a crop and know we will lose hundreds of dollars per acre. Frankly, it's scary when all you see is red ink," she said.

James added, "We have all heard the saying 'Hope is not a strategy.'"

She called on Congress "to deliver a new farm bill so we no longer have to hope, but we can know that we can continue to farm and enjoy what we do to provide food for our fellow man."

Farmers testifying credited Congress for providing $10 billion in economic aid and nearly $21 billion in disaster aid just before the end of the year. Farmers are now waiting for Brooke Rollins, nominee for USDA secretary, and her team to get in place so those funds can get out to farmers.

AFBF AND NFU

Rob Larew, president of the National Farmers Union, told senators, "We cannot afford a third extension of the 2018 farm bill."

Larew highlighted cotton farmers who are struggling to get operating loans after three years of drought and low prices. "They are now facing really tough decisions, and the bank doesn't know whether or not they are going to be able to extend that loan," Larew said. "They are really having that tough conversation."

Senators raised numerous concerns about trade, the agricultural trade deficit and the potential risk of tariffs.

Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, noted a tariff war would likely require more direct aid for farmers. He called for negotiating new trade deals to open markets.

"Our farmers want to have open markets. We don't want payments," Duvall said.

While President Donald Trump delayed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Larew told senators that the talk about trade tariffs disrupted sales.

"We're hearing some places that are not selling for delivery products beyond a certain date because of the threat of the tariffs," Larew said.

COMMODITY FARMERS REPEAT THEMES

Kenneth Hartman Jr., an Illinois farmer and president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), noted the average corn price has fallen 40% over the past two years. Fertilizer prices have come down but remain high.

"On average, (the) American corn farmer is facing losses over $160 per acre of corn for the 2025 crop year coming on," Hartman said, after losing more than $100 an acre last year.

Hartman said farmers are looking forward to receiving economic assistance for the 2024 losses.

Josh Gackle, a North Dakota farmer and chairman of the American Soybean Association, expressed his concern about tariffs. After Trump put 10% tariffs on China, the Chinese so far have not put new tariffs on soybeans. But the risk remains, Gackle said.

"The U.S. soybean industry is still dealing with long-term negative impacts of the last trade war in 2018," Gackle said. "Retaliatory tariffs from additional actions taken by the U.S. could threaten foreign market access even further."

Compounding concerns, Brazil and Argentina soybean producers also "are primed to meet any international demand resulting from trade disruptions," Gackle said.

Without attributing the comments to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Gackle also noted that "false narratives" about using seed oils for cooking and suggestions of a ban are a risk to producers.

"Removal of the edible oils market would cause an immediate and significant decline in soybean oil prices," he said.

Keeff Felty, an Oklahoma farmer and president of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), also said the farm safety net needs to be updated to face current realities. Wheat farmers saw a 43% drop in net cash farm income from 2023 to 2024, Felty said.

"That marks the lowest level in the last 15 years," he said.

Meanwhile, the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) price for wheat "has fallen far short of the cost of production" since the 2018 farm bill. Wheat prices have dropped 37% since 2023, which leads to a projected loss of $96 an acre, Felty said.

Nathan Reed, an Arkansas farmer and board member of the National Cotton Council (NCC), said higher yields will not be enough to overcome the current economic crisis in agriculture.

"I personally know producers right now who have spent their entire lives farming but may not be able to secure operating loans this year," Reed said. "My equity is depleting every year."

Reed credited Boozman for proposing to increase the PLC for cotton as well as enhancing crop insurance products. He said the next farm bill should also modernize marketing assistance loans for cotton and provide more support for the textile industry.

Amy France, a Kansas farmer and chair of the National Sorghum Producers (NSP), cited her time as a rural banker and a farmer to sum up the situation.

She said farmers are "bleeding resources and capital," leading farmers to rely on aid from Congress. Sorghum farmers last year lost $178 an acre, she said. The 2025 crop year appears just as grim, she said.

"The current problem is quite easy to sum up," France said. "We're facing weaker crop prices, higher costs of production and a stubborn weather pattern that has been brutal."

The economic aid is a lifeline, she said, "However, we need to move beyond short-term ad-hoc relief."

Farmers need long-term stability of a new farm bill, France said. NSP's top priority also is higher PLC reference prices, she said, but improvements to Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) insurance also are needed.

Chris Engelstad, a Minnesota farmer and president of the National Barley Growers Association, said depressed prices for barley have led farmers to hold grain for as much as 18 months before they can deliver it. Acreage and production are down in major barley-growing states.

"The situation for barley is more concerning because we are losing crop diversity and crop rotation options," Engelstad said. "As barley production declines, we are also losing barley processing infrastructure."

Garrett Moore, an Alabama farmer representing the U.S. Peanut Federation, said peanut farmers are still going to face a $249-per-acre crop loss for 2024 even after economic assistance provided by Congress. Like other commodities, peanut farmers want to see reference prices increased.

Moore said farmers also need a voluntary base-acre update to account for farmers who are not receiving support for their crops.

Tim Deal, a Minnesota farmer and vice president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, talked about sugar prices dropping 10% during the past year. Deal called for increasing loan rates and storage rates for forfeited sugar. Growers also want a crop insurance program for revenue insurance, he said.

USDA will release an updated net farm income forecast on Thursday.

To watch Wednesday's full hearing, go to www.agriculture.senate.gov.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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