On Friday, June 11, Congressman GT Thompson, from Pennsylvania, Congressman Michael Cloud, TX-27, and Congressman Jodey Arrington visited Terry County.
Congressman Thompson is the ranking member on the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. Congressman Cloud is on the Ag Committee. Congressman Arrington has been on the Ag Committee, but is now on the Ways and Means Committee.
Their purpose in coming to Terry County was to visit with farmers in the area, and basically put “faces to figures and boots on the ground.”
Their first stop was at the Meadow Farmers Co-op Gin where Dan Jackson welcomed them, along with Terry County farmers Mason Becker, Rhett Green and Matt Hogue.
Also with the group was Executive Director of the Southwest Council of Agri-Business Jimmy Clark, and Tom Sell of Combest, Sell, and Associates, an agriculture lobbying group. Kody Bessent of Plains Cotton Growers was also with the group.
The group chatted with the farmers and listened to their concerns.
They discussed the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill and possible changes that could be made in it. Congressman Thompson is hoping to talk to many commodity groups and see what is working and what is not working in the 2018 Farm Bill.
They then toured the gin plant, where they met Johnny Najera, Ginner at the Meadow Farmers’ Co-op.
From there, they went to Mason Becker’s farm. Mason talked about how tough it is to survive in agriculture now days. “Without a doubt, there is no way I would be here today without (disaster help) from last year. It is just tough to make ends meet. We can’t compete against other governments. On a level playing field, we can compete with anyone, but not in today’s world with what we are facing.”
Thompson stated, “As much as some of our colleagues in Washington think we can control the weather, that just ain’t gonna happen! We have to be ready to help deal with these weather issues. It is a constant challenge.”
Clark stated, “If you have a healthy farm economy, then you have a healthy economy.”
Jackson told the group, referring to President Trump, “You can say what you want, but for a businessman from New York, President Trump said the word ‘farmer’ more than any other President ever has. He did work hard for the farmer.”
Thompson agreed, “Agriculture was a real sticking point for him. He was not going to back off or compromise. In my lifetime, I have never seen a President from either party put agriculture first.”
Thompson, Jackson, Bessent, and Cloud
These men seem very open to hearing from those actively involved in agriculture and seem willing to work hard to protect our nations’ farmers.
