Arrington Works with Trump Administration to Lower Input Costs for Farmers

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) led 21 Members of Congress representing Rural America in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Attorney General Pam Bondi encouraging continued collaboration to strengthen competition in agricultural input markets and help lower costs for America's farmers and ranchers.

The letter commends the Trump administration for its initiative to strongly enforce existing antitrust laws in their joint USDA-DOJ Memorandum of Understanding aimed at promoting competition for agricultural inputs. Importantly, the letter urges a review of federal policies that impede competition and requests that these agencies to provide a list of regulations that can be addressed to lower prices for agricultural inputs.

"Rising input costs coupled with low commodity prices have fueled an economic crisis in Rural America, and it's why the efforts by your agencies to promote competition in the agricultural input marketplace are critical for our nation's farmers and ranchers," the letter reads, in part. "As you partner to ensure a competitive supply chain for our farmers and ranchers, we request that you respond to this letter… with a list of regulations across all agencies that impede competition in the marketplace for agricultural inputs."

Click HERE to read the full letter.

"Rising costs for fertilizer, seed, and equipment have placed enormous strain on farmers across the Cotton Belt," said Gary Adams, President and CEO of the National Cotton Council. "To help these producers, we must address unnecessary regulatory burdens and ensure that agricultural input markets remain fair and competitive. The National Cotton Council appreciates the leadership of Representative Arrington and other Members of Congress for bringing attention to these challenges."

"Corn growers nationwide just finished a third consecutive year of net negative returns," said Jed Bower, Ohio farmer and President of the National Corn Growers Association. "Input prices remain at near-record highs as corn prices per bushel have sharply dropped. That's why NCGA appreciates the efforts by Rep. Arrington and other members Congress to address the root causes of high input costs while supporting competition."

"Farmers continue to face rising input costs and limited competition," said Barry Evans, Board Member of the National Sorghum Producers. "Enforcing existing antitrust laws and reviewing regulatory barriers are important steps toward promoting fairness and choice in the agricultural marketplace."

Arrington was joined by Barry Moore (AL-01), Rick Allen (GA-12), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Michael Cloud (TX-27), Derek Schmidt (KS-02), Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-09), Chuck Edwards (NC-11), W. Gregory Steube (FL-17), Julia Letlow, Ph.D (LA-05), Keith Self (TX-03), Mike Bost (IL-12), Julie Fedorchak (ND-AL), Ben Cline (VA-06), Mary Miller (IL-15), Roger Williams (TX-25), Mark Harris (NC-08), Sam Graves (MO-06), Pete Sessions (TX-17), David Kustoff (TN-08), Rick Crawford (AR-01), and Lauren Boebert (CO-04).

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