Sugar beet growers are urging Congress to support sugar policy

Sugar beet growers are urging Congress to support sugar policy

With the next Farm Bill on the horizon, two sugar beet farmers recently leafed through their home state’s newspapers to praise U.S. sugar policy for securing our food supply and supporting their family farms. America’s sugar policy must be preserved and strengthened in the next Farm Bill.

Colorado farmer Paul Schlagel grows sugar beets in Boulder County for Western Sugar Cooperative. His family farm has been around for more than 100 years. Paul wrote in his op-ed for the Colorado Springs Gazette that the economic pressures and significant cost increases facing farmers require a stronger agricultural safety net.

“It is more important than ever that we have the strongest safety net possible to maintain current (sugar) production levels and maintain our national food security,” Paul wrote. “Without a strong safety net, family farms like mine would go bankrupt and countless jobs would disappear.”

In Montana, farmer Shane Strecker, who also grows sugar beets for Western Sugar Cooperative, pushed back against critics of the farm policy in the Billings Gazette. Shane pointed to the recent closing of Sidney Sugars in Montana and the resulting economic and job losses as a warning sign of what could happen if U.S. sugar policy were weakened.

“Letting farms like mine fail by eliminating policies that cost taxpayers nothing would mean fewer American jobs and more food grown in (sugar) subsidizing countries like Brazil and India. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take, and I’m willing to bet most Americans aren’t either,” Shane wrote.

Sugar crop farmers like Paul and Shane are critical to maintaining a strong and resilient domestic supply of an essential food ingredient. We are grateful for Congress’s continued bipartisan and bicameral support for the no-cost sugar policy that allows these farmers to survive.

Source: American Sugar Alliance & Western Ag Network