Speaking to Georgia farmers hit by drought and low commodity prices, Rep. Mac Collins recently told them that any long-term solution to stagnant farm income must include changes in tax and trade policies.
“We must address root problems that affect our farmers,” said the Republican from Hampton, whose 3rd District includes Fayette County. Collins toured farm and agriculture-related businesses in Georgia’s 10th District with Rep. Charlie Norwood recently to hear from farmers about difficulties they are facing. Norwood invited Collins to go on the trip and visit with dairy farmers, peanut farmers, cotton gin operators, implement salesmen and cattlemen.
“I’m here to learn from you,” Norwood said to several groups, adding he believes that it is important for congressmen to hear farmers’ concerns and suggestions.
Georgia Farm Extension Service officials told Norwood and Collins that agriculture is the single most valuable economic sector in Georgia. Farmers said they were being pummeled by three factors: higher prices for the machinery, chemicals and land needed to produce crops, a drought going into its third year, and prices for commodities that are, on an adjusted basis, at 50-year lows.
The Washington County Extension Service and Washington County Farm Bureau produced a chart which showed that during the period from 1965 to 1999, prices for important farm inputs have climbed drastically. Some of the items and their increases are: fertilizer, 361 percent; seed corn, 642 percent; tractors, 509 percent; combines, 1,580 percent; and a gallon of gas, 336 percent.
During that same period the price of corn has gone up only 49 percent, soybeans 47 percent, wheat 17 percent, and cotton a mere 4 percent, and price per pound for hogs has actually fallen 32 percent.
Several farmers said they also are being hit with increasing federal regulations, said Collins. “They say these rules are strangling farmers by requiring time-consuming paperwork and expensive changes,” he said. Others said federal laws allow lower-price products to enter the country even when they may be sprayed with chemicals banned on U.S. produce. Joe Duckworth, a farmer from Milledgeville, told Collins he and other farmers welcome tax legislation that reduces capital gains taxes and will end the inheritance tax. “If we don’t get rid of the inheritance tax, then we’ll have to sell the farm, because we won’t have the cash to pay it.” Collins said tax laws and trade policies must be modified to increase farm competitiveness.