Senator Marshall: President Trump Continues to Fight for Our Farmers

Senator Marshall Joins RFD TV Market Day Report

Washington - U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), joined Suzanne Alexander on RFD TV's Market Day Report to discuss the increased benefits farmers are receiving this tax season, how President Trump has fought for farmers, how international events have affected input prices, and solutions to provide relief from high production costs.

Click HERE or on the image above for Senator Marshall's full interview.

On what farmers are facing this year:

"Well, I think number one is they're celebrating Tax Day. Is that for the first time in decades, Americans celebrated Tax Day - American farmers, small business owners. Right, they're on average getting $2,000 or $3,000 of a tax refund, and that's because of our Working Family Tax Cuts bill, that we doubled the death tax exemption, that we allow them to write off their bonus depreciation, interest expense, all those types of things as well. But beyond that, of course, it is input costs, as you alluded to - that input costs are the limiting factor right now. We got a great RFS report out recently, we can talk about that, but there's no doubt that they're talking about the price of fertilizers and the price of diesel fuel."

On legislative solutions to input prices:

"Well, I think there are things that we've already done to celebrate as well. So I talked about the Renewable Fuel Standard - that's going to mean that we're going to consume an extra 85 million bushels of soybeans. The Renewable Fuel Standards are a $30 billion a year industry now for American farmers. Think about it - we export maybe $20 billion of corn a year, so this is bigger than our entire export market. So to continue to accentuate the positive here. And then on the fertilizer standpoint, I've been worried about fertilizer since Russia invaded Ukraine, my goodness, is that four years ago now? And we saw not only nitrogen fertilizers go up, but also the potash fertilizers. So we've been working on a package of legislation; so proud of what Senator Klobuchar has done as the ranking member, the Democrat ranking member, working with us and Senator Thune. What our fertilizer package would do is bring about new competition. It would help small producers of fertilizer get into the business, it promotes transparency, it promotes competition. And then there's also a lot of biologics out there - the microorganisms that function as fertilizers. You throw them in the soil, they grab the roots, and they help grab the nitrogen out of the soil, grab the water out of the soil, so trying to promote those and get those to market as well. So yes, there are some things we're doing, and we'll keep working on it."

On the effect of the conflict in Iran on agricultural production costs:

"I think number one is we all need to realize how important national security is. If this theocracy in Iran continues, and they develop a nuclear weapon and they control the Strait, diesel fuel is going to go up to $15 a gallon and your fertilizers go up another 50% as well. So we're hoping this is short term. I appreciate the sacrifice the American farmer is making, and I just want to, again, go back to the big picture - under the previous administration we saw record drops in net farm income, last year we turned that around under President Trump. And I would argue that President Trump has done as much for an American Farmer as anybody has. You know, we started talking about doubling the death tax exemption, the 199A pass-throughs, the record number of volumes for renewable fuel, as well are examples, and we're expecting trade exports of corn and ethanol to go up 25% as well. And at the end of the day, yes, we need to work on the fertilizer and diesel prices. So my hope and prayer, this is a very short-lived increase, and we'll see the economy and these input costs come down as well. But they never go down as fast as they go up, and that's the market, and I think that's because a very finite number of people control that market."

On additional financial aid to farmers:

"Again, I'm going to remind people President Trump's already given farmers $42 billion since he was sworn into office. It's something that we'll seriously consider. I think, again, this President has done so much already. Let's see where we are in a week or two, let's see if we can get Iran buttoned up. But again, I think we have to be focused on our nation's security first; generations before us have paid it forward by making sacrifices. But you know, that's certainly something that we're talking about over here as well, and it's probably going to have to happen."

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