[Senate Hearing 117-608]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 117-608

                      2023 FARM BILL: PERSPECTIVES
                         FROM THE NATURAL STATE

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEOFRE THE

                       COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,
                        NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                             June 17, 2022

                               __________

                       Printed for the use of the
           Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
           
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                  Available on http://www.govinfo.gov/
                  
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                   U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
51-389 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2024                    
          
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          COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY


                 DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan, Chairwoman
PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont            JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio                  MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota             JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado          JONI ERNST, Iowa
KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York      CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
TINA SMITH, Minnesota                ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois          TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama
CORY BOOKER, New Jersey              CHARLES GRASSLEY, Iowa
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia             DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
                                     MIKE BRAUN, Indiana

               Joseph A. Shultz, Majority Staff Director
                    Jessica L. Williams, Chief Clerk
               Fitzhugh Elder IV, Minority Staff Director
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                         Friday, June 17, 2022

                                                                   Page

Hearing:

2023 Farm Bill: Perspectives from the Natural State..............     1

                              ----------                              

                    STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS

Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan...     3
Boozman, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Arkansas......     4

                               WITNESSES
                             Welcome Panel

Latour, Mickey, Ph.D., Dean, College of Agriculture, Arkansas 
  State University, Jonesboro, AR................................     1
Hillman, Rich, President, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Little Rock, AR..     2

                                Panel I

Reed, Nathan, Chairman, American Cotton Producers, Marianna, AR..     8
Doyle, Brad, President, American Soybean Association, Weiner, AR.     9
Doramus, Anne Marie, Commissioner, Arkansas Game and Fish 
  Commission, Little Rock, AR....................................    10
McAlpine, John, President, Kingwood Forestry Services, Inc., 
  Monticello, AR.................................................    11
Morgan, Mark, Farmer, Peach Pickin' Paradise and Morgan Farms, 
  Clarksville, AR................................................    13
James, Jennifer, Chair, USA Rice Sustainability Committee, 
  Newport, AR....................................................    14

                                Panel II

Cole, Greg, Chief Executive Officer, AgHeritage Farm Credit 
  Services, Little Rock, AR......................................    22
Bowles, L. Elizabeth, Chief Executive Officer, Aristotle Unified 
  Communications, LLC, Little Rock, AR...........................    24
Hasten, Buddy, President and Chief Executive Officer, Arkansas 
  Electric Cooperative Corporation, Little Rock, AR..............    25
Sanders, Rhonda, Chief Executive Officer, Arkansas Foodbank, 
  Little Rock, AR................................................    26
Sternberg, Dennis, Chief Executive Officer, Arkansas Rural Water 
  Association, Lonoke, AR........................................    27
                              ----------                              

                                APPENDIX

Prepared Statements:
    Hillman, Rich................................................    38
    Reed, Nathan.................................................    40
    Doyle, Brad..................................................    46
    Doramus, Anne Marie..........................................    58
    McAlpine, John...............................................    62
    Morgan, Mark.................................................    68
    James, Jennifer..............................................    70
    Cole, Greg...................................................    82
    Bowles, L. Elizabeth.........................................    87
    Hasten, Buddy................................................    98
    Sanders, Rhonda..............................................   103
    Sternberg, Dennis............................................   108

Document(s) Submitted for the Record:
Boozman, Hon. John:
    Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, prepared 
      statement for the Record...................................   114
    Arkansas Farmers Union, prepared statement for the Record....   118
    Cypress Tree Environmental Consulting, LLC, prepared 
      statement for the Record...................................   120
    George Dunkin, prepared statement for the Record.............   130
    Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, prepared statement for the 
      Record.....................................................   132
    Mazon, A Jewish Response to Hunger, prepared statement for 
      the Record.................................................   134
    National Aquaculture Association, prepared statement for the 
      Record.....................................................   137
    Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program, prepared statement for 
      the Record.................................................   138
    Arkansas Wildlife Federation, prepared statement for the 
      Record.....................................................   139
    National Young Farmers Coalition, prepared statement for the 
      Record.....................................................   147

 
          2023 FARM BILL: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE NATURAL STATE

                              ----------                              


                         FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

                                       U.S. Senate,
         Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in 
Riceland Hall, Fowler Center, Arkansas State University, 
Jonesboro, Arkansas, Hon. Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the 
Committee, presiding.
    Present: Senators Stabenow and Boozman.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Good morning. I call this hearing of 
the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry to order, and I would like to recognize my Ranking 
Member and partner on the Agriculture Committee, Senator 
Boozman from the great State of Arkansas, to introduce our 
Welcome Panel.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair. Before we begin 
the hearing, I would like to invite some fellow Arkansans to 
provide welcoming remarks. To start, I welcome the Dean of the 
Arkansas State University College of Agriculture, Dr. Mickey 
Latour, and again, thanks so much to Arkansas State for doing a 
tremendous job in hosting us and going above and beyond the 
call of duty.
    Dr. Latour.

      STATEMENT OF MICKEY LATOUR, Ph.D., DEAN, COLLEGE OF 
  AGRICULTURE, ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, JONESBORO, ARKANSAS

    Dr. Latour. Thank you, Senator Boozman. Good morning. I am 
Mickey Latour. I am the Dean of the College of Agriculture, and 
I am honored to be asked to make a few remarks this morning for 
this well-timed and special event. Speaking of well-timed, 
during this same week in 1836, Arkansas became the 25th State, 
and so it is fitting that we would actually have this 
particular week to talk about this.
    History tells us that many States and territories began 
with a predominance of agriculture, and that is true to a large 
degree out of necessity. Arkansas has remained a strong 
advocate of agriculture, and even after 186 years, agriculture 
remains the No. 1 industry in Arkansas, adding about $20 
billion to the State economy. The Natural State's diverse 
landscape, climate lends itself to a variety and diversity of 
opportunities in agriculture.
    Our university started as an agriculture school in 1909 and 
today is a very comprehensive university and still anchored in 
agriculture roots. As we prepare for the future, we accelerate 
opportunities for our students through meaningful 
collaborations and partnerships with the Judd Hill Foundation, 
where we are going to create a new state-of-the-art facility 
that will emerge in early 2023 for our students, faculty, 
community members to explore research and entrepreneurial 
opportunities. We have close linkages with the University of 
Arkansas Division of Agriculture, the Arkansas Biosciences 
Institute, and the USDA ARS water research facility. In 
collaboration with these partners, we stand strong and believe 
that we can help solve many of the challenges that are coming.
    In closing, I would like to recognize certainly our 
Senators that are here today, our U.S. ASU Trustees, Paul 
Rowton, Jerry Morgan, Steve Eddington, State Senator Dan 
Sullivan, and Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward. Thank you so 
much.
    Senator Boozman. Well, thank you so much, Dr. Latour. Under 
your leadership, Arkansas State University College of 
Agriculture has done many great things not only for the State 
of Arkansas, but the whole of American agriculture.
    Next, I welcome Mr. Rich Hillman, who serves as the 
President of the Arkansas Farm Bureau.

  STATEMENT OF RICH HILLMAN, PRESIDENT, ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU, 
                     LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

    Mr. Hillman. Madam Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member 
Boozman, we thank you so much for the opportunity to visit with 
you and, more importantly, to welcome you to the great State of 
Arkansas. I am Rich Hillman. I am proudly a sixth-generation 
farmer from Carlisle. My family has been raising rice on the 
Grand Prairie for decades, and I am very fortunate to be 
involved in many organizations that serve farmers and ranchers, 
including serving as Arkansas Farm Bureau President.
    Agriculture is the largest industry in our State, and that 
says something when you consider some of the titans that we 
have in the retail and business world that also call Arkansas 
home. Our agriculture is very diverse, including row crops, 
livestock and poultry, specialty crops, aquaculture, and a very 
significant timber industry.
    You will be hearing from the best of the best today, really 
what is Arkansas's greatest asset, and that is the men and 
women who farm and ranch here in Arkansas. I cannot underscore 
enough their talent, intelligence, and quite honestly, the most 
important tool needed today, that is their resilience.
    Before I yield to others, I would like to convey to you the 
importance of our next Farm Bill. As we are hopefully exiting a 
worldwide pandemic, we have to be very cognizant about what 
happened to our food chain, what we all encountered and worried 
about when we saw the empty shelves in the grocery stores. We 
learned that our food chain that has served us well for decades 
was not as strong as it needed to be. We learned a few weak 
links that were pulled apart, thankfully, for just a short 
time. Because of those issues and good old American ingenuity, 
we have even a more efficient, sustainable food chain now than 
ever before.
    The American farmer and rancher were, are, and will be a 
part of that solution. We stayed our course, constantly 
challenged but always steadfast in doing our job. Our farmers 
and ranchers are the best in the world, period. We can compete 
with anyone on the face of the Earth, but what we cannot 
compete against is other governments that for various reasons 
would like to dictate the world food supply.
    Because of that, a variety of other issues, it makes our 
next Farm Bill one of the most important pieces of legislation 
in our country. Thank you for being the leaders who are 
undertaking this meaningful task, a daunting task sometimes.
    The men and women here today will tell our story better 
than anyone I know. We all do our jobs across this State to 
feed hungry people, with great pride and diligence. At the end 
of the day, all of us that do that realize our jobs are most 
important known to mankind.
    Thank you again for traveling to the Natural State to 
listen to us. Thank you more for the leadership to our farmers 
and ranchers and to our great country. Thank you.

STATEMENT OF HON. DEBBIE STABENOW, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE 
    OF MICHIGAN, CHAIRWOMAN, U.S. COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 
                    NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you so much, President 
Hillman. You are right; American farmers and ranchers are the 
best in the world. There is no question about it, and that is 
why I am proud to join with Senator Boozman in leading our 
Committee efforts.
    Dr. Latour, thank you. Dean of the great College of 
Agriculture, thank you for welcoming us as well.
    Thank you to all of our witnesses for joining us and taking 
the time today and good morning again. I really am delighted to 
join Senator Boozman here in Arkansas as we begin the process 
to write the next Farm Bill.
    Thank you to our host, Arkansas State University. Go, Red 
Wolves.
    I cannot leave out Senator Boozman's beloved Razorbacks. We 
got to do both here, just like in Michigan. I went to Michigan 
State. We also have a little place called the University of 
Michigan. I represent the whole State. I have to make sure I 
always mention both.
    I want to thank you for this warm, actually very warm, 
welcome today. It is a pleasure to have Senator Boozman as my 
partner on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
Committee, and it really is a privilege to lead the Committee 
with him and to work hard to deliver for our farmers and 
families, rural communities here in Arkansas, as well as 
Michigan, as well as the entire country.
    We are working hard to put bipartisanship and civility at 
the center of everything we do. That may not mean we agree on 
everything, but we do agree on more than we do not. Growing 
that common ground really is the key to getting a Farm Bill 
that provides farmers and ranchers the certainty they need, 
that keeps food on the table and invests in our small towns. 
That is how the most recent Farm Bill passed with the strongest 
bipartisan support ever, and that is what Senator Boozman and I 
are building here today.
    It was a real pleasure to have him at our first hearing at 
Michigan State University, my alma mater, in April, and it was 
great to showcase Michigan agriculture and our broad diversity 
of crops, as well as the strength of our rural communities, 
just like the town I grew up in, in northern Michigan.
    Most importantly, to listen to what is working and not 
working in the Farm Bill, that is what this is about. I am 
looking forward to learning more about what makes Arkansas 
special here today, and I know there is a lot. I want to hear 
more about what rice and cotton farmers are seeing on the 
ground and hear about your work to support small towns and 
rural communities, and I am hoping for some Arkansas catfish 
for lunch also.
    I had the honor to meet many of our witnesses over 
breakfast this morning. You might not think so, but there is a 
lot of similarities between Michigan and Arkansas. We have 
about the same number of farms. Our farm economies are roughly 
the same size. Our States are both leaders in innovative mass 
timber construction, which Senator Boozman and I both are 
working on together. Our farmers are passionate about 
conserving habitat for ducks and other wildlife because both of 
our States have booming outdoor recreational economies.
    As we think about the 2023 Farm Bill, we know it means a 
strong safety net for farmers and families, incentives for 
farmers to do conservation in more ways that work for their 
farms, healthy local and regional food systems that provide 
markets for what farmers grow, support for research, and trade 
opportunities and investments in our quality of life in the 
rural communities so many of us call home.
    I look forward to hearing ideas from our witnesses today on 
how we can be more effective. We want to hear what is working, 
what is not working, in particular, how we can help you tackle 
the challenges you face.
    Again, thank you to my friend and Ranking Member for his 
gracious welcome to Arkansas and for his partnership as we work 
together to get the best 2023 Farm Bill possible for our 
country.
    I now turn to Senator Boozman.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BOOZMAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF 
    ARKANSAS, U.S. COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND 
                            FORESTRY

    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am so pleased to 
be in Jonesboro, and thanks again for doing the tremendous job 
of hosting us, also, with my friend, Senator Stabenow, the 
Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. It is so good 
to have her in Arkansas as we discuss the next Farm Bill. This 
is the second hearing in a series our Committee will hold to 
help inform our decisions and identify the issues we will 
consider as we write the new Farm Bill. The answers need to 
come from the ground-up.
    Earlier this year, the Chairwoman kicked off the Senate's 
2023 Farm Bill hearings in East Lansing, Michigan, on the 
campus of Michigan State University. I greatly appreciate all 
the effort the Chairwoman, her staff, and the university put 
into holding a very good hearing that helped me learn more 
about the issues farmers and rural communities in Michigan 
face. It is interesting; they face the same problems that you 
face, and so I think that is the great--one of the great 
strengths of having these hearings.
    Today's hearing will share the story of agriculture in 
Arkansas and the importance of the Farm Bill to my state. Of 
course we will talk about commodities, safety nets, and 
managing risk, but the Farm Bill is about more. It is about 
rural communities and families. It is about wildlife habitat 
and conserving natural resources. It is about supporting 
research at our universities. It is about helping those in 
need. Those are only a few things of the many things the Farm 
Bill will impact. The list goes on and on and on.
    Chairwoman Stabenow is now a veteran of the Farm Bill 
process, and I look forward to working with her as we craft 
bipartisan legislation that meets the needs of farmers, 
ranchers, forest landowners, rural communities, and the other 
beneficiaries and participants in USDA's programs in Arkansas, 
Michigan, and throughout the country.
    Everyone in this room recognizes that we are in an 
unprecedented time: the pandemic, the war in Europe, historic 
and widespread inflation, and now serious concerns about a 
recession. It just feels different.
    As we consider the next Farm Bill, we must ask if the 
policies and programs currently in place are the policies and 
programs that we need for the world that we find ourselves in. 
Are we empowering, encouraging, and incentivizing our farmers 
to be more productive and more efficient. To be more resilient? 
Are we making the right investments in our rural infrastructure 
to keep the economic benefit of those productivity and 
efficiency gains in our rural communities? Are investments in 
agriculture research focused on answering the right questions? 
Is there a role for the Farm Bill to help address weak points 
in our supply chains and our labor markets?
    I believe that we have an opportunity in this Farm Bill to 
put in place the tools necessary to strengthen American 
agriculture for any situation we face in the future. If we do 
that, our farmers will continue to do what they have always 
done, provide the most abundant, lowest-cost, and safest food 
supply in the world. I know that Arkansas farmers are ready to 
meet the challenge.
    This morning, we are fortunate to have 11 Arkansans before 
us, who are leaders in agriculture, forestry, rural 
development, conservation, and nutrition. These sectors 
underpin the economies of our rural communities and are a major 
component of Arkansas's economy.
    We have 42,000 family farmers and ranchers operating on 14 
million acres, with gross receipts from the sales of crops and 
livestock equal to $9.7 billion. The economic output of food 
and agriculture in the State is $92 billion, which supports 
nearly 500,000 jobs and $23 billion in wages.
    Arkansas is our country's top producer of rice, something I 
am certain Chairwoman Stabenow has repeatedly heard from me and 
from you, many of you. We are also a major producer of cotton, 
poultry, and timber. Soybeans are our most widely planted crop, 
and we are seeing growth in peanut acreage due in no small part 
to a state-of-the-art peanut shelling plant here in Jonesboro.
    Even with all this success, 53 of Arkansas's 75 counties 
lost population in the last census, something that is far too 
common in rural counties throughout the United States. We all 
lose when rural America loses. To stem this loss, we must 
ensure our farm families and rural residents have access to 
affordable electricity, high-speed internet, and safe drinking 
water. Those forms of infrastructure are essential services, 
and with proper investment, rural communities can measurably 
increase their quality of life.
    I think any of our witnesses would tell you that being 
involved in agriculture is a daily blend of challenges and 
opportunities. I think they would also tell you that they 
wouldn't want to do anything else, and for that, we are all 
indebted.
    Again, I would like to thank Chairwoman Stabenow for 
joining me in Jonesboro this morning. I look forward to hearing 
from our witnesses and thank each and every one of them for 
taking time from their busy lives to share their story with us 
today.
    Now, before I yield back and we actually get to the 
business, we have a tradition at the Ag Committee where we 
present the visiting Senator with a commemorative gift. When I 
was at the Michigan State campus, Senator Stabenow gifted me 
with a beautiful Spartan green tie.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Which he wore.
    Senator Boozman. Which I wore. Once.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. I will not ask you where it is now.
    Senator Boozman. Today, I am happy to present Senator 
Stabenow with a gift, a very special gift and unique to the 
State of Arkansas, and here it is.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you.
    Senator Boozman. Open it up. Open it up for us.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. I have got to open it up.
    Senator Boozman. This is a personalized duck call from 
Rich-N-Tone, handcrafted in Stuttgart.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. I love it. I love it. That is 
beautiful.
    Senator Boozman. It really is.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. We do have duck hunting in Michigan.
    Senator Boozman. Very, very nice. Earlier, Wes Ward gave 
her an Arkansas Traveler, and I told her when I come to her 
office I want to see it in a prominent place, or at least have 
it where she could take it down--take down another picture and 
stick it up.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. That is right.
    Senator Boozman. We want to see this in a prominent place 
also. Maybe we will get you back out here for a duck hunt and 
actually get you to use it.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Yes, exactly.
    Senator Boozman. With that, I yield back, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you so much, Senator 
Boozman. This is really terrific. All right.
    Now we want to officially welcome our witnesses, and I am 
actually going to turn it back over to Senator Boozman to make 
the introductions before we hear from them.
    Senator Boozman. Our first witness today is Mr. Nathan 
Reed. He and his wife, Kristin, raise cotton, rice, corn, and 
soybeans in Marianna. Nathan is a proud graduate of the 
University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers School of Agriculture, Food 
and Life Sciences, with a degree in Agricultural Business, and 
the University of Arkansas School of Law. Reed is also involved 
in the National Cotton Council as a Producer Director and 
current Chairman of the American Cotton Producers, as well as a 
member of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas Board of 
Directors and the Lee County Farm Bureau. Just into all kinds 
of stuff. Nathan and his wife, Kristin, are proud parents to 
four children.
    I have known Nathan for many, many years and thank you so 
much for taking part in the hearing today.
    Mr. Brad Doyle is President of the American Soybean 
Association. He is a farmer from Poinsett County, Arkansas, 
currently serves as President, as I just said, of the American 
Soybean Association and President of the Poinsett County Farm 
Bureau. Brad is passionate about trade, scientific crop 
research, and plant breeding. Along with family members, he 
operates Eagle Seed. Eagle Seed specializes in developing 
soybeans, rice, wheat, cereal rye, food plots, and cover crops.
    The Doyle family has been recognized as American Soybean 
Association ``Conservation Champions,'' and in 2020 they 
received a Conservation Demonstration Grant from the Walton 
Family Foundation to develop seed blends to alleviate runoff to 
the Mississippi River Basin. The Doyles' experience in agronomy 
helps farmers find research-based seed combination for specific 
regions of the United States.
    Thank you so much, Brad, for being with us and 
participating.
    Mrs. Anne Marie Doramus is a Commissioner at the Arkansas 
Game and Fish Commission. She is from Little Rock and was 
appointed to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission by Asa 
Hutchinson in 2019. She is the first woman appointed to a full 
term on the Commission in the State's history.
    In addition to being a successful businesswoman, she is 
also a lifelong friend and advocate of the outdoors. She is 
also a graduate of the University of Arkansas and is Vice 
President of Special Products and Sales for Arkansas Bolt 
Company, a fastener distributor and OEM supplier based in 
Little Rock. Anne Marie serves on the Board of Directors for 
the Arkansas State Fair and Livestock Show and served on the 
Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation. She is a founding member of 
the Arkansas Outdoor Society, a group for young adults who are 
passionate about conservation and outdoors in Arkansas, and 
directly supports the mission of the Arkansas Game and Fish 
Foundation and Commission.
    Thank you very much also for being here today.
    Mr. John McAlpine, who is a second-generation forester and 
grew up working in Arkansas forests, John joined the Kingwood 
staff right after graduating from the University of Arkansas at 
Monticello with a degree in Forestry and is now the President 
of Kingwood Forestry. John is a registered forester in Arkansas 
and Mississippi and a State-certified general appraiser in 
Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Missouri. John is an active 
member of the Arkansas Forestry Association, Association of 
Consulting Foresters, the Society of American Foresters, and 
the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts, and serves 
as the Vice Chairman of the Arkansas Forestry Commission.
    Thank you very much, John, for being with us today.
    Mr. Mark Morgan, owner of the first Discovery Farm in 
Arkansas, Peach Pickin' Paradise. In addition to peaches and 
nectarines, Mark also raises cattle and turkeys in Johnson 
County, Arkansas. The Morgans were previously recognized as 
Arkansas Farm Family of the Year, and Mark was previously named 
Arkansas Farmer of the Year at the Sunbelt Agriculture Expo. 
Mark received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Agricultural 
Business and a Master's of Science degree in Animal Science 
from the University of Arkansas.
    Mark and his wife have three children, and I hear that they 
enjoy watching the Razorbacks and Arkansas State.
    I look forward to your testimony today, Mark, very, very 
much.
    Mrs. Jennifer James, it is our pleasure to welcome her as 
we wrap up. A fourth-generation rice farmer from Newport, 
Arkansas, she, along with her father, husband, and son, grow 
rice, corn, and soybeans on their Century Farm. Jennifer served 
as Chairman of the USA Rice Sustainability Committee since its 
inception in 2009. Additionally, she currently serves as Vice 
Chairman of the Arkansas Rice Farmers Board of Directors.
    In 2019, Jennifer was the first woman ever elected to the 
Board of Directors of Riceland Foods, the largest miller and 
marketer of rice in the United States. She has also been 
recognized by Field to Market as the Farmer of the Year as well 
as Rice Farming Magazine's Rice Farmer of the Year. Jennifer 
graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor's of 
Science in Agricultural Business and was recognized as the John 
W. White Outstanding Student in the College of Agriculture.
    Thank you, Jennifer, again for being here, and we 
appreciate all of you all taking the time to be with us to talk 
about this very important subject.
    I yield back.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you and welcome again. We will 
ask each of you to give your oral testimony. Any followup you 
would like to give us in writing, we would certainly welcome.
    Mr. Reed.

STATEMENT OF NATHAN REED, CHAIRMAN, AMERICAN COTTON PRODUCERS, 
                       MARIANNA, ARKANSAS

    Mr. Reed. I am Nathan Reed, a cotton, corn, soybean, and 
rice producer in Marianna, Arkansas. I testify today on behalf 
of the National Cotton Council.
    While cotton prices are stronger than in recent years, 
higher input prices and severe supply chain issues have 
resulted in significant increases in production costs. On my 
farm since last year, diesel and fertilizer have more than 
doubled with additional increases in crop protectants and seed 
cost. Supply chain and logistical challenges have wreaked havoc 
on our ability to get necessary inputs and equipment parts 
while creating major disruptions in delivering cotton to our 
customers.
    An effective safety net for producers must consist of two 
key components: first, a commodity policy that provides either 
price or revenue protection for prolonged periods of low prices 
and depressed market conditions; second, a strong and fully 
accessible suite of crop insurance products that producers can 
purchase and tailor to their risk management needs.
    A non-recourse marketing loan program for upland cotton 
remains a cornerstone of farm policy for our industry 
regardless of market conditions. The marketing loan is 
necessary for multiple industry segments to effectively market 
cotton and provide cash-flow for producers.
    A strong conservation title, including robust funding for 
working lands programs is beneficial to the environment and is 
an important tool for producers across the United States. It is 
vital that the U.S. be able to continue to produce more food 
and fiber while protecting the environment needed for that 
production.
    U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is the industry's sustainability 
program and is a testament to the industry's commitment to the 
environment. Through the Trust Protocol, growers document 
continued improvement in reducing greenhouse gas emissions as 
well as land, water, and energy use. Many of the 
environmentally friendly production practices implemented 
through effective working lands programs are reflected in the 
data collected in the Trust Protocol.
    In closing, I encourage the Committee to write a Farm Bill 
that provides long-term stability for the future. There will be 
price declines from where we are today. Current input costs, 
when paired with reduced commodity prices, are not sustainable. 
Recent disasters have been more extreme than the essential 
assistance commodity programs and crop insurance products can 
provide. Recent trade disputes have caused disarray in our 
export markets. More resources are needed. We ask the Committee 
to work with the leadership in both parties to provide long-
term solutions to these challenges.
    We look forward to working with the Committee and everyone 
involved to develop and pass a new Farm Bill that will not only 
address the needs of all segments of the U.S. cotton industry 
but of all commodities. Thank you, and I would be pleased to 
respond to any questions.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Reed can be found on page 40 
in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you so much.
    Next, we will hear from Mr. Doyle.

     STATEMENT OF BRAD DOYLE, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN SOYBEAN 
                 ASSOCIATION, WEINER, ARKANSAS

    Mr. Doyle. Good morning, Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking 
Member Boozman. Thank you for bringing the Committee to 
Arkansas and for allowing me to offer my testimony.
    I am Brad Doyle, and I am a soybean farmer from Weiner, 
Arkansas. I am here today representing the American Soybean 
Association (ASA) in my current role as President. Nationally, 
as well as in both Arkansas and Michigan, soybeans represented 
the crop with the highest or second highest acreage in 2021. 
Soybeans are produced in nearly every State represented by 
members of this Committee.
    In preparation for the next Farm Bill, ASA started the 
process of gathering feedback from farmers last year. Through 
listening sessions, a Farm Bill survey, and written feedback, 
soybean farmers contributed to the development and recent 
release of ASA's Farm Bill priorities. These priorities are 
included in my written statement.
    These priorities include, among others: improving the farm 
safety net for soybeans, such as increasing the soybean 
reference price for calculating Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) 
and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and providing the option to 
update base acres; protecting crop insurance, which is the most 
effective risk management tool that soybean farmers have and 
lenders value; enhancing accessibility of conservation programs 
and maintaining the voluntary incentive-based approach that 
farmers appreciate; growing investments in the promotion of 
U.S. commodities globally, including Market Access Program 
(MAP) and Foreign Market Development Cooperator Program (FMD) 
as we continuously seek new markets; and building opportunities 
for biofuels and bio-based products, both of which hold great 
market potential for our versatile crop.
    It is important to note that improving, protecting, 
enhancing, growing, and building all require additional 
resources. As you prepare to write the next Farm Bill, we 
respectfully request that you seek additional funding resources 
from the Budget Committee to enable these and the priorities of 
others to be possible.
    Throughout the remainder of 2022 and into early 2023, ASA 
will continue to gather feedback from soybean growers about our 
priorities and will continue to refine them. We look forward to 
working with you throughout the Farm Bill reauthorization to 
craft meaningful and comprehensive farm policy.
    Thank you both for your commitment to agriculture and rural 
America, and thank you again for this opportunity to share 
testimony on Farm Bill perspectives from Arkansas.
    I would just like to add I am a two-time graduate of 
Arkansas State University College of Ag.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Doyle can be found on page 
46 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Oh, all right. All right. You are 
home. That is great.
    Commissioner Doramus, welcome.

 STATEMENT OF ANNE MARIE DORAMUS, COMMISSIONER, ARKANSAS GAME 
           AND FISH COMMISSION, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

    Mrs. Doramus. Good morning, Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking 
Member Boozman, members of the Committee. Thank you for the 
opportunity to testify on behalf of the State of Arkansas and 
to express the importance of the Farm Bill to conservation here 
and across the country.
    Arkansas's position as an agriculture and recreation leader 
gives us a unique perspective about the Farm Bill and its 
implications to Arkansas citizens. Outdoors-related recreation 
has an annual $9.7 billion economic impact. Waterfowl hunting 
alone generates well over $200 million a year and supports 
thousands of jobs.
    The State of Arkansas has a long history of collaborative 
conservation partnerships. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 
(AGFC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm 
Service Agency (FSA), and many partners have worked proactively 
with producers Statewide to conserve and restore the Natural 
State from the Ozarks to the Delta. In short, conservation 
issues are quality of life issues in Arkansas.
    Arkansas is a diverse State, with strong agricultural 
industry. The majority of Arkansas is privately owned. The Farm 
Bill's conservation programs represent the single largest 
investment in private land conservation. Its most critical 
function is to support our State's thriving agricultural 
communities. However, there are substantial benefits to fish 
and wildlife habitat. My written testimony provides details on 
the Farm Bill's conservation programs in Arkansas, and I would 
like to provide you three examples of recent successes in the 
Natural State.
    First, let us talk about wetland reserve easements. 
Arkansas is a national leader in Wetland Reserve Easements 
(WRE), with more than 270,000 acres enrolled in the program. 
This is important to recharge aquifers, clean and filter 
surface water, build wildlife habitat in critical core areas, 
and finally, provide recreational land for people who love 
wildlife. We believe increased funding for WRE and management 
of WRE projects, especially in water bird focal areas, are 
needed in the 2023 Farm Bill.
    Next is the Voluntary Public Access program. For Arkansas, 
we have a new, innovative working lands project that allows 
producers to provide food and water for water birds and 
waterfowl on rice fields. We call this program WRICE. Water 
birds are a continental resource, and waterfowl need winter 
water in Arkansas just as much as they need grasslands in their 
nesting grounds up north. The public and our users are desiring 
more access to hunting and outdoor activities. For the 2023 
Farm Bill, we request increased funding for VPA as well as 
extending the grant awards to five years to allow for program 
continuity.
    And finally, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program 
(RCPP), championed by you, Chairwoman Stabenow, in the 2014 
Farm Bill. In Arkansas, we are delivering a new open forest 
RCPP in south Arkansas and north Louisiana. This program will 
reduce the threat of wildfires, and it will improve habitat for 
ground nesting birds by opening up overly dense forest using 
thinning and prescribed fire.
    In closing, I want to thank you for the opportunity to 
testify. It is great to see bipartisan support for 
conservation. AGFC stands ready to continue working with you 
and our partners to achieve a strong conservation title in the 
Farm Bill, which is essential to the economic prosperity and 
resiliency of our Nation's landowners, producers, and rural 
communities and serves as a backbone to conserve our Nation's 
valuable soils, forest, wetlands, grasslands, and wildlife 
resources.

    [The prepared statement of Mrs. Doramus can be found on 
page 58 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you so much. I believe 
that Arkansas has five RCPP partnerships right now. Is that 
right? Which is wonderful.
    Mr. John McAlpine, welcome.

   STATEMENT OF JOHN McALPINE, PRESIDENT, KINGWOOD FORESTRY 
              SERVICES, INC., MONTICELLO, ARKANSAS

    Mr. McAlpine. Thank you and welcome to Arkansas, the 
Natural State. I am John McAlpine. I am an Arkansas native. I 
am a second-generation forester, so I have grown up in the 
woods and doing forestry work my entire life.
    I do run a consulting firm in southeast Arkansas, where we 
help approximately 400 landowners, forest landowners, manage 
their property on day-to-day operations and pass it down one 
generation to the next. Through our work, we have also found 
that local-led voluntary conservation has proven to be one of 
the most effective forms of getting conservation on the ground.
    Arkansas is home to almost 19 million acres of forestland, 
of which is 56 percent of our State's area. Eighty-three 
percent of that forestland is owned by private individuals. 
Seventy-eight percent of our timber volume is on that private 
part of the ownership. Arkansas ranks 10th in wood production 
and ranks 3rd by percentage of the most dependent GDP for our 
forest products. Repeating our State Forester, Joe Fox, he has 
also indicated healthy markets are healthy forest. If we cannot 
manage our forest and harvest products in the forest, we are 
not able to manage those.
    Today, we are growing in excess of 24 million tons a year 
of excess inventory. Part of this is going to lead to overstock 
stands that can continue to have forest health issues. Some of 
the benefits from a healthy forest are clean air, clean water, 
as well as the forest products we use every day, wildlife 
habitat, energy, carbon sequestration.
    On the carbon end part of the climate change, forestry has 
a great story to tell. Trees are one of the best factories we 
have to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in 
finished products that can be stored for many years. Some of 
these products may be Cross-Laminated Timber for mass building, 
other structures, other products we use every day. While the 
forest products we have harvested have stored carbon, we have a 
new crop taking more carbon out of the atmosphere.
    Programs such as Environmental Quality Incentives Program 
(EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), RCPP, the Joint 
Chiefs assist landowners in managing their forest and 
accomplishing their goals. Under the 2018 Farm Bill, 41 percent 
of EQIP and 24 percent of CSP forestry and wildlife 
applications were funded, but there is significant need for 
additional funding to help these. Many landowners have not 
applied since they have not gotten funding in the past, and 
forest landowners are much different than other producers. 
Timber is being harvested throughout the entire year, so there 
are needs that may not fit within the timelines of applications 
and funding under the Farm Bill. There are opportunities to 
improve this timeline.
    Arkansas's forestland stakeholders have an excellent 
history of working collaboratively and voluntarily to manage 
our State's forest.
    Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. McAlpine can be found on 
page 62 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you very much. I am 
listening to you, thinking there is so much similarity between 
the interests of Michigan and Arkansas in this area, for sure.
    Mr. Mark Morgan, welcome.

 STATEMENT OF MARK MORGAN, FARMER, PEACH PICKIN' PARADISE AND 
              MORGAN FARMS, CLARKSVILLE, ARKANSAS

    Mr. Morgan. Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Boozman, I 
appreciate you giving me the opportunity to talk a little bit 
about specialty crops today. I farm peaches with my dad, fifth 
generation, hopefully raising the sixth generation on our farm. 
Whenever I got my master's in 2010, I missed the farm, and I 
wanted to come back. Growing peaches is very important to our 
family.
    There has been a lot of change in 12 years, you know, 
several things that you have to be able to adapt to, and you 
know, that is part of farming. Peaches are important not only 
to us but our local community. Even through the schools, Farm 
to School Program, things like that, we really focus on local 
markets.
    Some of the most important things that we have struggled 
with, and me personally, especially crop producers, is crop 
insurance, specifically through RMA. Our premiums are so high 
for our losses, and even the ability if we have to buy up the 
premiums, they just do not cash-flow. It does not make sense.
    Our crop--you know, we are so labor-heavy in January, 
February, and March. That is when we are pruning. Our two 
biggest problems are in April if we have a freeze damage or 
hail damage. Last year, April 20th, we had a freeze. This year, 
May 15th, Easter Sunday, we had hail. It changes all the time. 
We do not ask for much, but better risk protection packages 
through crop insurance is something we would really like to 
see.
    That usually brings us to the Noninsured Crop Disaster 
Assistance Program (NAP). You know, they say, well, you are a 
specialty crop guy. You know, why don't you utilize NAP?
    NAP just does not really make sense for much of us. It does 
not pencil out. In some cases, you can even lose money. You go 
to meetings with peach growers, even the tomato guys in south 
Arkansas, we are not using NAP because it is not applicable for 
our State. You know, advancements in risk management is 
something we would really like to see in specialty crops.
    Sustainability is huge for all the farmers through 
conservation programs that they have mentioned. You know, they 
mentioned input costs. We deal with all that stuff, too, but 
the biggest sustainability issue that we have in specialty 
crops is being able to take--you know, not having the risk 
management tools. When you have two or three bad years in a 
row, you are done. We just want something a little bit more 
reliable.
    I love growing peaches. It is one of--you know, it is what 
I came back to do, and I love my job. I just want, you know, 
myself as well as others to keep that going. That way, that 
opportunity is there down the road.
    We would just like to see better risk management tools in 
the 2023 Farm Bill. Thank you.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Morgan can be found on page 
68 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
    Jennifer James, welcome.

  STATEMENT OF JENNIFER JAMES, CHAIR, USA RICE SUSTAINABILITY 
                  COMMITTEE, NEWPORT, ARKANSAS

    Mrs. James. Good morning, Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking 
Member Boozman. Thank you for coming to Arkansas. We are proud 
to be here and have the opportunity to present this testimony 
on behalf of USA Rice for the 2023 Farm Bill.
    Jennifer James. I am a fourth-generation rice farmer from 
Newport. I farm with my husband, my father, and now my son, 
which makes me very proud. We also raise soybeans and corn and 
provide many acres of over-winter habitat for migratory 
waterfowl each year.
    Title I, specifically the Price Loss Coverage Program 
(PLC), is really our true safety net, and it is critically 
important because it levels the playing field for rice that is 
highly subsidized by our global competitors. U.S. farm families 
cannot compete in such a distorted world market without U.S. 
farm policy, and PLC helps to ensure that more of the world's 
rice is produced right here in the United States.
    Unfortunately, PLC is no longer adequate. Reference prices 
do not provide the level of assistance needed for an effective 
safety net for rice producers. Current PLC reference prices for 
rice were established based on the 2012 cost of production. USA 
Rice is looking into ways the reference prices could be indexed 
to the input costs to provide more relevant protection. Payment 
limitations also need to be adjusted to reflect the growing 
size and risk of our family farms.
    Setting aside for a moment our 1923 Farm Bill priorities, 
there is a very real and present crisis in the U.S. rice 
industry. Currently, rice has been disproportionately affected 
by steep increases in input costs, and we have not seen a 
corresponding increase in the price of rice. USA Rice has sent 
two letters to Secretary Vilsack, asking for financial 
assistance for rice farmers.
    Our current estimate is that rice acres will fall to 2.2 
million acres this year. That is a 27 percent decline from our 
average historical acres of 3 million. With acres declining so 
fast, one must question how and for how long the unique 
infrastructure needed to handle and process rice can survive.
    Senator Boozman, we have no greater champion for rice than 
you, and I thank you for your support. We think standing by our 
Nation's critical rice industry is a worthy investment, and we 
hope you and the rest of the Committee will stand with us. In 
the wake of the pandemic and now with global food shortages 
said to be imminent, Americans are realizing that food security 
as a national security issue is not just a clever slogan; it is 
a reality. We cannot afford to lose our domestic rice industry.
    Farm Bill conservation programs are important to the U.S. 
rice industry, and its voluntary incentive-based models need to 
be retained. Congress should prioritize working lands instead 
of set-aside programs, especially during times of potential 
food shortages.
    The rice industry has had great success with its 
stewardship partnership with Ducks Unlimited and numerous 
partners using the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. 
Congress should examine how the programs can provide additional 
flexibility and reduce administrative barriers.
    The Market Access Program and the Foreign Market 
Development Program have helped the U.S. rice industry and have 
a proven track record of success in more than 30 overseas 
markets. Congress should double the funding for these vital 
programs.
    USA Rice has been intentional over the past several years 
to improve crop insurance for rice producers. While crop 
insurance in no way replaces Title I or II, it is a critical 
part of the safety net.
    Thank you for your time and framing up and listening to our 
discussion here in Arkansas and for my ability to be here 
today.

    [The prepared statement of Mrs. James can be found on page 
70 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you so much. Thank you to 
each of you.
    I will now proceed to questions and then turn to Senator 
Boozman to do the same thing.
    Mr. Morgan, I want to start with you. We have a lot of 
specialty crops in Michigan, as you know, including peaches and 
cherries and blueberries and a whole range of things. I spend a 
lot of time focusing on specialty crop issues, and one of those 
has been crop insurance.
    NAP has not worked for Michigan. When we got wiped out a 
number of years ago after a freeze, it did not work, and so I 
understand what you are saying. We have begun that process. We 
have now said crop insurance can be there for specialty crops.
    I wonder if you would talk more about how we improve crop 
insurance from your standpoint or other risk management tools 
for specialty crops here in Arkansas.
    Mr. Morgan. A lot of the specialty crops--you know, I mean, 
if you have a lender, they require you to have coverage. You 
know, one of the problems I face is we are a pick-your-own. We 
have folks that come out. You know, my tree--and this is just 
an example. I cannot have a 20-foot tree because we have people 
coming out. We cannot have ladders out there. That is a lawsuit 
nightmare. My bushels per acre is significantly lower.
    Specialty crops are very diverse. It is very difficult, 
even a peach grower to a peach grower. We do not all fit in the 
same box. You know, more options for different types of 
operations is something that I really think would help because 
even within, like you say, the peach crop, the diversity is 
substantial.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. I look forward to working with you and 
Senator Boozman on that because specialty crops are all very 
different and that is one of the challenges from a crop 
insurance standpoint, but we need to make improvements.
    Mrs. James, you highlight the value of conservation 
programs in your testimony and the tremendous demand for EQIP 
and CSP and RCPP, all great acronyms for great conservation 
programs, and I wonder if you could describe how we can help 
better meet the demand you describe. Talk a little bit more 
about that.
    Mrs. James. Well, as I am sure you are very aware, we are 
at about a 3:1 application to approval with just EQIP, I 
believe, alone. There is great demand. There is great demand in 
the rice industry, and we have fortunately been able to utilize 
those programs to move the needle in sustainability, water 
quality, water quantity, soil health issues and things like 
that. You know, as those programs need to be--continue to be 
funded. For us in the rice industry, it is the most important 
for us to stay in business, and economic sustainability today 
is of utmost importance for our producers.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you.
    Mr. Doyle, I wanted to ask, we have got a lot of soybeans 
in Michigan as well and do a lot of really exciting things 
around bio-based products, as you know, a whole range of things 
that are exciting. I wanted to ask you about the USDA's 
announcement that it will invest $1 billion in supporting 
Climate-Smart commodities and environmental service markets 
that can be benefit commodity producers. What opportunities 
exist for soybean farmers to take advantage of these markets 
and adopt what we dub as Climate-Smart agricultural practices?
    Mr. Doyle. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Yes, it is very 
exciting. As you will see today visiting the Judd Hill farm, it 
is quite different than what you are used to up north. You will 
not see much of last year's crop residue. Our environment here 
is a lot warmer and speeds up the process of breaking down 
organic matter. Cover crops have been a challenge here.
    We have got some really, really great forward-thinking 
farmers that make it work. It does not work for everybody, but 
I know cover crops and no-till farming are the norm in the 
Midwestern States. Here we have our own unique challenges.
    I believe there are several hundred proposals into the 
Climate-Smart program. I have been a part of several. United 
Soybean Board is one of those who have applied. We are very 
excited to see what comes out of that.
    As mentioned here before, we have got farmers who believe 
in conservation because we invest in our soils and we want them 
to remain on the farm. We all primarily drain into the 
Mississippi River Basin, and that is money flowing away from 
the farm. There are many practices you will see, such as flash 
board risers, our roads are more elevated, things you will 
probably not normally see in Michigan, and I am excited for you 
to personally see those practices.
    We have got some of the best farmers in the world, I 
believe, and the practices that will be presented through 
Climate-Smart will be able to meet those challenges.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Great. Thank you very much.
    Commissioner Doramus, talking about conservation programs 
for ducks and other wildlife in your testimony, we certainly--
again, very common interests between Arkansas and Michigan. Can 
you give us an example of how these programs benefit both 
farmers and wildlife at the same time and as well as conserving 
the land, benefiting our farmers economically? You spoke a 
little bit about it, but I think this is such an important 
point. I wonder if you might just expand on that.
    Mrs. Doramus. I could not agree more. That is a very 
important point, and how it correlates with each other is for 
the farmers--first off, I want to say that I do have a 
background, yes, in conservation, but my family also has a row 
crop operation in south Arkansas, so I see a little bit of 
both.
    These programs are very innovative in areas of production 
where it is not conducive to farming, that would be better 
suited to wildlife. Why not work together on these issues to 
provide more habitat for wildlife? In the end, it benefits the 
quality of life in Arkansas and increased participation in the 
outdoors, whether it be hunting, birdwatching, habitat for 
water birds, et cetera. It really goes hand in hand as far as 
conservation goes.
    Honestly, we would like to see in the future, as I 
mentioned, more WRE participation and more funding to that, 
especially more boots on the ground, because there is a lot of 
producers out there who are wanting to get on these programs 
and getting them on would be very vital and beneficial to the 
State of Arkansas and our resources.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Great. Thank you.
    Mr. McAlpine, you stated in your testimony that foresters 
need clear and transparent guidance and protocols before they 
can participate in carbon markets. We hear that a lot, and I 
agree. What tools can Congress provide to the Farm Bill--and 
Senator Boozman and I are working on how do we create that 
support and clarity, you know, and support USDA to support you 
to do that. What tools could we do through the Farm Bill to 
alleviate some of the ambiguity and ensure that forest owners 
and land managers benefit from carbon market incentives?
    Mr. McAlpine. Thank you. The carbon markets. You know, it 
is important from my perspective to be able to be very clear 
and transparent to both the ones producing the carbon credits 
as well as the ones buying the carbon credits. Some of the 
things that are already in place are some of the forest 
certifications that many of the landowners already have to 
prove those lands are being managed sustainably.
    You know, many of--the Farm Bill can support the 
reforestation and continued, you know, management of those 
properties in a healthy way, such as some of the prescribed 
burning, thinning, other types of things to manage those 
forests, to keep them in a productive part.
    One of the important things also with the carbon markets is 
to have working forests, not forests that are just set aside. 
Forests that are set aside will take less carbon out of the 
atmosphere than forests that are actively growing and healthy.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Great. Thank you so much.
    Mr. Reed, talk a little bit more--because the severe 
weather is wreaking such havoc because of what is happening in 
the climate crisis and carbon pollution and so on, I want to 
talk a little bit more about this. You highlighted the 
potential $350 million economic benefit to cotton farmers that 
could result from the USDA Climate-Smart Partnership Grants, 
and I wonder if you could describe a little bit the role of 
cotton farmers and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol that you 
talked about, which I am so interested in, in mitigating the 
effects of the climate crisis as well as providing economic 
benefits for our farmers.
    Mr. Reed. Absolutely. We in the cotton industry, similar to 
rice, our product is more direct-to-consumer. It is people look 
for cotton, and we are very of that. We are starting to see 
that consumers are demanding. They want to know where their 
products come from, and they want to make sure it is 
sustainably sourced. As an industry, to get out in front of 
that, we created this U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol because we 
know that we are conservationists, that farmers are, at heart. 
We know we are doing what is best for the land to pass down to 
our children. It is generational, just like any other--
everybody here at this table.
    Through the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, it is a way for us 
as the cotton industry to show the world that American cotton 
is the most sustainably sourced cotton on Earth. If you want 
sustainably sourced product, if you are a retailer or a 
consumer, buy American cotton.
    With this cotton--or, with this $350 million, the cotton 
solutions--or, the climate solutions, that will provide funding 
through the--provide funding through the Trust Protocol to 
maybe provide some incentives for farmers to do more. The way 
the Trust Protocol works is you get on a website and show the 
conservation practices you are doing and it recommends some 
more, but there is some additional funding there to help 
jumpstart and maybe provide more cover crops or provide some 
ability to reduce erosion in places.
    Also, through that, we would like to partner with some 
Historically Black Colleges and to recruit minority producers 
for Protocol membership and compensation through the adoption 
of Climate-Smart agricultural practices.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Great. Well, thank you so much. Thank 
you to each of you.
    I am going to turn now to Senator Boozman for his 
questions.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Nathan, Brad, Jennifer, each of you operate diversified 
operations. You have all touched on the need for improvements 
to the farm safety net while also expressing the importance of 
its continuation. Can each of you take a moment to highlight 
the risk you are facing this year and how you are managing that 
risk and then, very importantly, what concerns that you have as 
we go into the next season?
    Mr. Doyle. Thank you, Senator Boozman, for the question. 
Going into this year, we had a lot of excitement coming off of 
last year's crop. Prices have risen, and we were looking and 
feeling pretty good about what we were going to plant. Then 
here came the input prices right behind, and crop prices did 
not double, but input prices do and did, and most all input 
prices.
    If we look at profit margin on the farm, family operations, 
they invest a lot of money, collateral each year, basically put 
the farm up each year to go one more year at a time. We look to 
those programs, ARC and PLC, crop insurance for soybean. Ninety 
percent of soybeans use crop insurance, so it is very, very 
vital to our family livelihood to have that accessibility.
    I believe it is about money. We need more money in the 
program. We do not need to trade money around. If there is an 
ask, it is an ask to go back to the budget committee and ask 
for more support there. The reference price for soybeans needs 
to be looked at. It is just not feasible to use the current 
level. Even in a year where China--we had the trade war and 
that was not triggered, it just shows you that is proof that 
things need to be changed.
    That would be--we are going to manage our risk as farmers, 
save our inputs where we can, be more efficient, absolutely, 
but we do rely heavily on those safety net programs.
    Senator Boozman. Very good.
    Mr. Reed. That is--obviously, as a farmer, I still consider 
myself a young farmer, maybe not as much anymore, but we 
still--I mean, pretty much my whole livelihood is on the line 
every year. I mean, one--as capital-intensive as farming has 
become, one bad season could about wipe us out without some 
other form of intervention, and so, obviously, we worry about 
commodity prices declining while input prices are high.
    Another concern is--and I do not know the way around this, 
but all farm programs are based off revenue and the price of 
the crop. There is not really any mechanisms there when you get 
in a--even though we do have high prices, our input prices are 
a lot of times higher than what our commodity prices. You know, 
that is a very big concern.
    You know, just with maybe a looming recession in the cotton 
industry, apparel, you know, apparel and home furnishing go 
down, so the demand for cotton may go down.
    That is the big--I guess what my concerns are is not having 
any kind of safety net on the input side. Prices could still 
stay high on the commodity, and we could still--if these inputs 
continue to rise--I mean, I spent--and I am not a large farmer. 
I think I spent $200,000 yesterday on diesel, getting ready to 
start irrigation on a small family farm. It is just--you know, 
when all our prices have doubled, that is huge risk.
    Senator Boozman. Jennifer?
    Mrs. James. Well, the end of your question was about next 
season, and today, I am worried about this season very, very 
drastically, as I stated in my brief testimony. Rice farmers in 
the U.S. have not seen in the increase in the price of rice as 
the other commodities are enjoying.
    We are in a critical situation with the reduction in acres. 
That means less hundredweights to go through our dryers, to go 
through our mills, to put on the shelf, to remain viable in the 
marketplace, to maintain market share in our markets in the 
world.
    Some of the economic analysis is showing that we are going 
to have a drop in net farming income of about $880,000 per farm 
in 1922. Ten of the fifteen--the AFPC representative rice farms 
are going to show a loss. It is a very serious situation, and I 
know that any assistance that might come in 1922 will not make 
us whole, but it might make us start looking at 1923.
    Senator Boozman. Very good.
    Mark, in your testimony, you mentioned the challenges 
facing adequate labor for your operation. Can you describe some 
of the workarounds? How are you able to handle the challenges?
    Mr. Morgan. Oh, that could take a while. You know, we have 
always prided ourselves on our farm of paying really good 
wages. When you talk about labor, it is not really just the 
labor; it is skilled labor. It seems like that is what we 
cannot find anymore. If you know, an employee can weld or was a 
good pruner and could pick adequately, you know, that is 
something that we were always willing to compensate. The basis 
I mean, the basic fact is in the last three, four years that 
worker is no longer available. That generation is gone.
    I have got H-2A paperwork sitting on my desk for--you know, 
I always said we would avoid it. What kept me from, you know, 
kind of going through that program is we need a workable 
program that is more turnkey, that is more, you know, readily 
available, that whenever it is time to do the work, to do the 
work.
    We are scraping by right now the best we can. Again, it is 
just the lack of skilled labor, it seems, that we are having 
trouble with.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you.
    John, will you share your recommendations of what you think 
is needed, or perhaps not needed in some cases, from the 
Federal Government as it relates to supporting healthy working 
forests and the rural communities that rely on the multitude of 
benefits that those resources provide? That is so, so very 
important. What programs or policies do you think are working 
well for you, and what improvements would you like to see 
Congress consider as we work on the next Farm Bill?
    Mr. McAlpine. Some of the things would be to just be able 
to have an extension to markets for these landowners. Without 
being in the markets, you know, they may not continue to manage 
their forestry, even own their forest, convert them to other 
uses.
    You know, some of the other things that really do put some 
of these forests at risk, a big issue is invasive species and 
the continued work on invasive species, and that is one of the 
places where the Farm Bill can really help effect work on the 
invasive species. We are seeing more and more invasive species 
from the emerald ash borer, the Chinese tallow tree, feral 
hogs. You know, there is a gamut of those, and it seems like 
they just spread invasive species at an exponential rate 
anymore.
    Senator Boozman. Very good.
    Anne Marie, we mentioned the RCPP project, the fact that we 
are participating. What advice would you have for us to help 
improve the program and better ensure that the program is 
successfully leveraging limited Federal dollars?
    Mrs. Doramus. Well, first, we are very grateful to have 
this RCPP project between south Arkansas and north Louisiana. 
Partnerships is key.
    One thing that we would ask is, I guess, more flexibility 
and localized control because south Arkansas is different than 
doing a project in north Arkansas. For instance, we had an RCPP 
project on the Buffalo River up there. The topography and 
landscape is completely different than it is in south Arkansas. 
Really, in short, flexibility is really what we desire in that 
program.
    Senator Boozman. Very good.
    Nathan, you mentioned that cotton is produced across 17 
States, many of which are experiencing severe drought. Can you 
describe how this difficult reality should be weighed as 
Congress reviews the Farm Bill's various risk management 
options?
    Mr. Reed. Well, cotton is a very diverse crop. It needs 
heat, but it can grow from extremely dry conditions to 
extremely wet conditions. It is very diversified amongst the 
growing regions in the way that we produce the crop.
    Here in Arkansas--when you get into the dryland production 
in west Texas, crop insurance is a very big aspect of it. Here 
in Arkansas, we have spent our land being improved. Most of the 
cotton grown in Arkansas is grown on improved cropland. We have 
spent money improving our land, putting irrigation in, and so 
we grow a very high input crop.
    The issue is after we spend all that money doing that we 
really cannot afford a high priced insurance product on top of 
it. We are generally always going to make a crop, but again, 
with high input prices, we may still lose money. The current--
and for Arkansas cotton producers, I would say the current 
insurance products offered generally are not taken advantage of 
that well because it is very hard to take out insurance if you 
know you will never collect.
    I mean, I do take out crop insurance, but in 20 years of 
farming I have never collected on yield on the back end. We do 
use it for the prevent plant aspect of it because we do have--
we are in the low area that can flood in the spring and if we 
cannot get the crop in, so that is the main reason it is taken 
out. Really, shallow loss is our main risk.
    We do have the STAX program we are very thankful for, but 
something expanded on that, whereas STAX is on a county level 
rather than an actual farm level.
    Too, maybe being able to add cotton base in this next Farm 
Bill. I have been farming 20 years, and I have never been able 
we are very thankful that cotton got put in the last Farm Bill, 
but we did not get an opportunity to update our base acres. For 
Arkansas--I mean, I am only 20 percent based on my acres. If we 
could have that opportunity, that would help to be able to have 
the base of the crop we are growing and mitigate some risk 
there.
    Senator Boozman. Very good.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you so much and thank you 
to each of our witnesses on our first panel. We will take a 
brief pause so that our second panel can join us, but thank you 
so much for being with us.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. The Committee will reconvene and 
welcome our second panel of witnesses, and I will turn to 
Senator Boozman to make introductions.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair. Our first witness 
for today's second panel is Mr. Greg Cole, the CEO of 
AgHeritage Farm Credit Services. Greg joined the Farm Credit 
system more than 38 years ago as a student intern with what was 
then known as the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis. During his 
tenure, Greg served in various roles and was named President 
and Chief Executive Officer of AgHeritage Farm Credit Services 
in 2008 after serving as the Chief Operating Officer for 
AgHeritage.
    Thank you very much, Greg, for being here today.
    Next up is Elizabeth Bowles. Elizabeth is the CEO of 
Aristotle Unified Communications, a broadband internet service 
provider headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. In addition to 
her role as CEO of Aristotle, Elizabeth has served two terms as 
Chair of the FCC's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee and 
is a past President of the Wireless Internet Service Providers 
Association.
    Thank you, Elizabeth, very much for being here.
    Next is Mr. Buddy Hasten. After growing up in Iowa, Buddy 
enlisted in the United States Navy in 1986 as a submarine 
reactor operator and was selected for the Navy's Nuclear 
Enlisted Commissioning Program. People who serve on submarines 
are special people.
    After a 20-year career in the Navy, Buddy returned to Iowa, 
where he served as the Regional Director of Generation for 
Iowa-based power plants at Alliant Energy. In 2011, Buddy 
joined Associated Electric Cooperative in Springfield, 
Missouri, where he served as Vice President of Engineering and 
Construction until coming Arkansas in 2019, where he has since 
served as the President and CEO of Arkansas Electric Co-op.
    Thank you, Mr. Hasten, very much for joining us today.
    Next is Rhonda Sanders. She is the CEO of the Arkansas 
Foodbank and has served in that role for nearly 10 years. Under 
her leadership, the Arkansas Foodbank distributed 38 million 
pounds of food in 2021, which provided approximately 31 million 
meals. Rhonda is an active leader in the Feeding America 
Network and currently serves as a co-chair for their Contact 
Task Force after serving as past Chair for the Policy 
Engagement and Advocacy Committee.
    She was also awarded the Feeding America Dick Goebel Public 
Service Award in 2019. She has a long history of serving her 
community at the Arkansas Home Visiting Network, Arkansas 
Hunger Relief Alliance, and Arkansas voluntary organizations 
active in disasters.
    We have been lucky to have her leadership in Arkansas and 
want to congratulate her on her retirement at the end of the 
year. I say, congratulations, it is a good thing, but it is 
very, very sad. Thank you, Rhonda.
    Next, we have, last but certainly not least, Mr. Dennis 
Sternberg. Dennis is the CEO of Arkansas Rural Water 
Association, where he is starting his 43rd year in the water 
and wastewater business. Dennis started his career working in 
the city of Bull Shoals, Arkansas, as Wastewater 
Superintendent. After serving as Wastewater Superintendent, 
Dennis then held positions at the National Rural Water 
Association before joining the Arkansas Rural Water Association 
in 1989, where he has been ever since. In 2009, the United 
States Department of Agriculture and National Rural Water 
Association recognized Dennis for his leadership in emergency 
response preparation.
    Dennis, thank you so much, also, for being with us today.
    Mr. Sternberg. Thank you, Senator.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Wonderful. Well, thank you very much, 
and we will start with Mr. Cole.

  STATEMENT OF GREG COLE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AGHERITAGE 
          FARM CREDIT SERVICES, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

    Mr. Cole. Madam Chairwoman Stabenow, welcome to Arkansas 
and Arkansas State, and we thank you for your leadership and 
your continued support of the Farm Credit system. I also want 
to thank you and Ranking Member Boozman for calling this 
hearing.
    I am Greg Cole, President and CEO of AgHeritage Farm Credit 
Services headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. AgHeritage 
Farm Credit Services, Farm Credit of Western Arkansas, and Farm 
Credit Midsouth comprise the Farm Credit Association of 
Arkansas. We are a cooperative. We are owned by farmers and 
ranchers we serve. We provide financing, crop insurance, 
related services to more than 22,000 farmers, ranchers, 
agribusinesses, and rural homeowners here in the Natural State. 
At the end of last year, Farm Credit Associations had $4.8 
billion in loans, 38 service locations throughout the State, 
and over 280 employees.
    Arkansas farmers are realizing high crop prices along with 
other farm products. However, these higher prices are being 
offset by high inflation that is significantly increasing crop 
production cost. Arkansas farmers are being hit by higher fuel 
costs, increasing interest rates, increasing labor costs, and 
reduced government payments. Supply chain disruptions are 
making it difficult for farmers to get certain equipment parts 
and inputs that are required to produce crops and livestock and 
operate farms in general.
    The Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas are very well 
capitalizing and in very good position to serve agriculture 
through this volatile time. We remain committed to working with 
our borrower-owners through all economic cycles.
    We have a deep commitment for young, beginning, and small 
farmers. We offer special interest rate programs, reduced 
underwriting standards for young and beginning small farmers. 
We host a Future Legacy Young and Beginning Farmers Conference 
here in Arkansas, which creates opportunity for young farmers 
to network with peers in the State and gain great insights into 
agriculture and financial topics.
    Supporting people of color in agriculture and rural 
communities is an integral part of the Farm Credit system 
mission. We have launched a pilot program at a high school here 
in Arkansas to educate minority youths on opportunities and 
careers in agriculture. We have outreach program for Hmong and 
Marshallese farmers, and we are committed to recruiting at 
universities with diverse populations.
    Farm Credit has supporting innovation agriculture for over 
100 years, including Climate-Smart practices. As the Committee 
considered Climate-Smart policy going forward, we urge you to 
craft solutions that are incentive-based, voluntary, and market 
based to reflect sound science.
    From a lending perspective, financing options must be based 
upon capacity. Lenders are not the appropriate avenue to 
determine the efficacy of specific farming practices or 
penalize or reward producers for certain farming practices.
    We hope the Committee will consider increasing the loan 
limits of FSA loan programs, especially in light of inflation 
and construction costs in poultry facilities that we finance a 
lot here in Arkansas.
    Crop insurance and Title I commodity programs are vital to 
Arkansas farmers. The programs provide a solid safety net, and 
we urge you to do no harm in changing those programs as you 
formulate the 2023 Farm Bill.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I look 
forward to your questions.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Cole can be found on page 82 
in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you very much.
    Ms. Bowles, welcome.

  STATEMENT OF L. ELIZABETH BOWLES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, 
  ARISTOTLE UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS, LLC, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

    Ms. Bowles. Thank you. Good morning, Chairwoman Stabenow 
and Ranking Member Boozman. I appreciate the opportunity to 
appear before the Committee today.
    My company, Aristotle, is a broadband internet service 
provider headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. We deploy a 
combination of fiber to the home and fiber/fixed wireless 
hybrid networks predominantly in rural areas of Arkansas and 
the Mississippi Delta. Our mission is to ensure that all 
Americans have equal access to broadband regardless of where 
they choose to live.
    In my capacity as Chair of the Broadband Deployment 
Advisory Committee, I was very focused on the policies and 
issues that affect broadband in rural America, and I was 
dedicated to making sure that the recommendations help rural 
America move forward in broadband connectivity.
    Over the last four years, Aristotle has applied for and 
received more than $100 million in Federal funds to bring 
broadband to parts of five States. The majority of that funding 
is for rural, poverty-persistent counties in the Arkansas and 
Mississippi Delta. Aristotle's current network brings reliable, 
high-speed broadband internet of speeds 100/20, 100 Mbps down/
20 Mbps up, to over 77,000 rural Arkansas households that 
previously had no access to broadband.
    The United States has made a lot of progress in getting 
broadband in rural America, but many rural Americans still lack 
access to broadband service. The bipartisan Infrastructure and 
Jobs Act makes available once-in-a-generation $65 billion for 
broadband, and a lot of that money is going to go into rural 
America. That program has initiated a fiber first, fiber only 
strategy, which means that the program will probably run out of 
money before every rural American is served. This is a concern 
that I have and something that the Farm Bill does not need to 
follow down that path.
    The Farm Bill is not a one-shot program. It can continue to 
fund rural broadband long after the BEAD funds are spent, and 
for this reason the legislative priority of the Farm Bill needs 
to be to ensure that every rural American has access to speeds 
of at least 100 Mbps down/20 Mbps up before we start funding 
gigabit broadband to certain rural homes which will necessarily 
leave other rural homes behind. These businesses, farms, and 
rural homes are dependent on the digital economy.
    In Arkansas, Aristotle used CARES Act funding to deploy 
100/20 hybrid network in less than a year to nine counties in 
the Arkansas Delta. The cost per passing was $400 a household. 
A fiber-only deployment could not have met this timeline, much 
less the per-household cost. For example, fiber-to-the-home 
grants awarded in Arkansas under the ARPA program, which has a 
100/100 symmetrical requirement, averaged over $6,000 a 
passing, and some of those grants awarded $14,000 per home.
    Fiber is very expensive, and it takes a lot longer to 
deploy than other technologies. Rural communities do not have 
the luxury to wait years for broadband connectivity, and if the 
focus of the Farm Bill broadband programs is to ensure that 
every rural farm and resident has access to broadband, then it 
is critical that the broadband programs in the Farm Bill remain 
technology-neutral.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to speak to you today, 
and I look forward to answering your questions.

    [The prepared statement of Ms. Bowles can be found on page 
87 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
    Mr. Hasten, welcome.

   STATEMENT OF BUDDY HASTEN, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE 
  OFFICER, ARKANSAS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE CORPORATION, LITTLE 
                         ROCK, ARKANSAS

    Mr. Hasten. Good morning. Good morning, Chairwoman 
Stabenow, Ranking Member Boozman. On behalf of the electric co-
ops of Arkansas, I thank you for the opportunity to testify 
today.
    My name is Buddy Hasten, and I grew up as a simple kid on a 
farm in Iowa, who had no idea the Farm Bill was so complex or 
so important. Currently, I reside here in Arkansas and proudly 
serve as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the 
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation. I hope you will 
spend some time on my written testimony, where I cover a lot of 
different topics, but this morning I want to focus in on the 
two most critical issues for us: maintaining reliable and 
affordable electricity and supporting the communities we serve 
by deploying rural broadband.
    We are very concerned about the recent retirement and 
amount of planned future retirement of baseload electric 
generation resources. These are being replaced primarily by 
intermittent generation, like wind and solar. The electric 
cooperatives of Arkansas are committed to deploying more clean 
energy. However, we believe the ongoing energy transition is 
moving at a pace that ignores current technological and market 
realities.
    This Committee should be concerned because when the 
reliability of the electric grid fails in rural America it 
almost always results in financial catastrophe and loss of 
human life. One defense against this bad outcome is to ensure 
that RUS can continue to make loans for all different types of 
generation technologies, both traditional baseload and 
renewables.
    Although outside this Committee's jurisdiction, I would 
also strongly advocate for leveling the playing field when it 
comes to access to Federal incentives for clean energy 
investments. Due to cooperatives' not-for-profit structure, we 
are unable to fully utilize tax credits for clean energy. If 
cooperatives had comparable incentives and could receive the 
full value of the tax credits through a direct payment, we 
could more effectively pursue emerging clean energy 
development.
    Affordable electric rates in Arkansas are threatened by 
inclement weather, supply chain disruptions, and high energy 
prices. One policy that would greatly help electric 
cooperatives keep rates affordable would be the opportunity to 
refinance rural utility services' debt. I want to give a 
special thank you to Ranking Member Boozman, who has sponsored 
a bill that would allow co-ops to do just that. This bill would 
yield over $100 million in future savings for our member-owners 
in Arkansas. Those savings will result in lower electric rates 
and better infrastructure in rural communities.
    Last, the Farm Bill is important to us because it contains 
many different types of rural economic development tools. 
Electric cooperatives are often partnered with USDA in 
deploying those tools. Deploying broadband in underserved parts 
of our State remains a very high priority for us and the 
communities we serve. Both RUS electric program loans, as well 
as ReConnect, are critical in that effort. As Congress begins 
to think about the next Farm Bill, ensuring that these programs 
are flexible and streamlined will allow electric cooperatives 
to deploy fiber resources as quickly and efficiently as 
possible.
    Thank you again as you consider the upcoming Farm Bill, and 
we look forward to working together on our shared goal to 
improve life in rural America.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Hasten can be found on page 
98 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you so much.
    Mrs. Sanders, thank you for all of your wonderful service 
to your people in Arkansas.

STATEMENT OF RHONDA SANDERS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ARKANSAS 
                FOODBANK, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

    Mrs. Sanders. Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Boozman, 
and fellow panel members and guests, I am Rhonda Sanders, CEO 
of the Arkansas Foodbank, and I am honored to be here today to 
speak on the impact of the Farm Bill on our neighbors facing 
hunger in rural communities.
    Arkansas Foodbank serves 33 counties in Arkansas and 
partners with five other leading American foodbanks in the 
State to create a comprehensive hunger relief system. Our 
service area covers over 24,000 square miles of which 17,000 
are considered rural. The Farm Bill is important to us in the 
hunger relief system, and it played a major part in helping 
Arkansas meet the needs during the pandemic.
    We learned many things during the pandemic that can help 
shape the next Farm Bill. During the pandemic, we proved the 
value of partnerships between public and private entities. USDA 
programs like TEFAP, CSFP, Farm to Family, and SNAP provided 
needed income for farmers, grocery stores, and producers while 
also providing food for thousands of hungry Arkansans. We 
became flexible with distribution as well as requirements of 
programs. Everyone pivoted together to ensure organizations and 
people facing hunger had much needed resources.
    The difficulties of serving rural communities has always 
been evident but were even more so during the pandemic. Rural 
areas, on average, have fewer resources and less infrastructure 
to help meet the higher than average needs of people facing 
hunger. This has always placed a burden on foodbanks, but 
during the pandemic, we developed new partners, strategies, and 
networks to help meet the needed goals, things like expanded 
rural deliveries and increased mobile distributions that are 
now a regular way of working.
    We are now facing new enemies, though, inflation and supply 
chain disruptions. These enemies disproportionately affect 
rural communities. The people we serve lack the resources to 
travel further and to pay more. There are already limited 
grocery stores, but now they lack product. The foodbanks in the 
State stand in a gap. We struggle daily to meet the need due to 
the high cost of food and transportation plus dealing with food 
shortages.
    I am going to share a part of Willie's story. Willie comes 
the last Tuesday of every month to the food distribution at the 
Arkansas Foodbank's Delta Branch. This is a TEFAP distribution. 
Willie arrives around 1 in the morning to get ready for the 
8:30 in the morning TEFAP distribution. He drives 45 miles 
round trip to get to that food each and every month.
    He said, ``I love everything I get, the beans, the rice, 
and vegetables'' because Willie and his wife are raising two of 
their grandchildren. They save a little bit of money every 
month to buy the needed things for their grandchildren. He 
shared that 1 month they had a really large gas bill and it 
took all of their funds to cover it. He said, ``If not for the 
Foodbank, we would not have had groceries that month.''
    The Farm Bill helps to address the needs of our neighbors 
like Willie. It is the foundational program in our fight 
against hunger while also being an economic driver in rural 
communities. Modernizing the determination of SNAP benefit 
levels is a major improvement. Increasing access to foods to 
purchase with commodity funds, continuing to streamline 
requirements for TEFAP and CSFP, and increasing funding for 
TEFAP food storage and delivery are additional changes that 
will help the foodbanks feed neighbors in need.
    In conclusion, there is not a silver bullet that will solve 
the issues of hunger in rural communities. However, supporting 
legislation that will support successful business endeavors 
while also providing food for immediate needs and long-term 
interventions is clearly a win-win. The Farm Bill has a long 
history of being that type of legislation as well as being 
adaptable for meeting the current needs of our State and 
nation. Thank you for continuing to improve and champion this 
vital piece of policy.

    [The prepared statement of Mrs. Sanders can be found on 
page 103 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you very much.
    Last but not least, Mr. Sternberg.

    STATEMENT OF DENNIS STERNBERG, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, 
       ARKANSAS RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION, LONOKE, ARKANSAS

    Mr. Sternberg. Thank you, Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking 
Member Boozman, for this opportunity to testify today. My name 
is Dennis Sternberg, and I speak to you today on behalf of the 
Arkansas Rural Water Association, which is one of a nonprofit 
federation of State rural water associations that operate in 
all 50 States.
    Madam Chair, it is an honor to testify before you in this 
Committee today on the important topic of the 2023 Farm Bill.
    Senator Boozman, thank you for always supporting rural 
Arkansas and rural America.
    Rural America faces unique challenges that small, rural 
communities face every day, and the program such as the USDA 
Rural Development Program is the only Federal agency created by 
Congress to specifically serve rural Arkansas and rural 
America. I would like to highlight briefly two USDA Rural 
Development programs that directly assist all rural America and 
a third that needs to be included.
    Circuit Rider. One of the most successful approaches for 
overcoming the challenge in rural America has been the Circuit 
Rider concept created by this Committee, which provides 
experienced hands-on experts to help rural water systems meet 
Federal and State requirements and protect the government's 
investment through USDA. It provides a pool of expertise that 
is otherwise unaffordable for the small and rural system and is 
a vital resource to ensure our safe water supply. Last year, 
Circuit Rider directly helped to protect the health and safety 
of 24,780,000 people, 41 percent of rural America.
    Wastewater technical assistance. Wastewater technicians are 
core to ensure small and rural communities can provide 
affordable and safe sanitation services. The initiative 
provides on-the-ground technical assistance directly to 
communities for wastewater treatment facilities. Assistance 
includes design, upgrade recommendations, daily operation, 
maintenance advice, assisting with permit renewals, and helping 
the systems meet compliance requirements on the State and 
Federal regulations.
    Several years ago, this service was disrupted in Arkansas 
and a few other States when the Agency shifted funding for a 
new initiative. We recommend to the Committee to provide 
priority within the water and wastewater technical assistance 
grant account to sustain this essential service and consider a 
multiyear, competitive, cooperative agreement for stability and 
planning purposes.
    Third, Circuit Rider Emergency Disaster Assistance for 
small and rural communities. ARWA and other State rural water 
associations have been providing onsite, direct disaster 
recovery and prevention during that time of need to utilities 
through the USDA Circuit Rider program for decades. I take 
pride that ARWA is one of the leaders in this effort. We 
currently provide hands-on training to other State rural water 
associations at our facility located in Lonoke, Arkansas.
    Current statutory and administrative burdens limit the 
effective and timely response of these services. In numerous 
cases, State associations, like ARWA, were forced to absorb the 
financial costs incurred to provide recovery and response 
activities. NRWA requests the consideration and permanent 
authorization to enhance this critical emergency service.
    I thank you for my time and appreciate you.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Sternberg can be found on 
page 108 in the appendix.]

    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you so much. Listening to 
all of you, it is such a reminder that the Farm Bill is much 
more than the critical support for our farmers. What you are 
talking about is quality of life in rural communities all over 
the country and essentials to making that happen, and this is 
very much a part of what we call the Farm Bill. Certainly Farm 
Credit is essential as well in so, so many areas.
    Mr. Sternberg, let me start with you. You talked about the 
fact that without special assistance for rural communities 
oftentimes the larger communities, because they have got the 
administrative or financial resources, are able to compete more 
successfully for funds. I am glad you mentioned the efforts 
that we put in place and appreciate all that you are doing, 
your organization is doing, on that to make sure we are talking 
about rural communities, small towns getting what they need.
    You also mentioned the need for targeted rural water 
programs for low-income rural communities. I am wondering, what 
are some of the challenges your organization is seeing in these 
low-income communities in Arkansas, and how can the Farm Bill 
programs begin to address those challenges?
    Mr. Sternberg. Well, thank you for the question. Throughout 
Arkansas, the majority of Arkansas is rural, as many States 
across this Nation. One of the things that we heard commented 
earlier this morning is 33 out of the 75 counties, I believe, 
have a declining population. It is more important that USDA 
focuses on those counties and those small communities that are 
needing to be funded by USDA through grants and loans.
    I think one of the problems USDA is having in Arkansas, and 
I would suspect across the Nation, is for the last several 
years since COVID especially the Rural Development offices 
overall pulled back, and rightfully so, not been out traveling 
or talking to their clients.
    And there has been a turnover within USDA staff, seasoned 
people retiring. A lot of the staff is not being replaced. The 
past State Director, Marshall, I cannot think of this name 
right now, but anyway, it was one of the concerns he had. He 
said, I cannot keep staff, and when a position becomes vacant, 
they are not allowing me to rehire.
    They need to promote what USDA does because it is the best 
thing for rural systems, and we need to keep this. Getting that 
message out--I think a marketing tool through the Department of 
Ag with USDA Rural Development needs to be focused on because I 
see a great need.
    The other problem we have got is when you are having the 
infrastructure money being given to the States for water and 
wastewater and other broadband and other things, you know, it 
is a lot easier to go through the State to get funding than it 
is through the Federal Government/USDA, just the hoops you have 
to jump through. Engineers are the ones that are going to 
advise that system where to go.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you.
    Mrs. Sanders, in your testimony, you talked about how the 
Arkansas Foodbank efforts complement the work of the Federal 
nutrition programs. Can you tell us more about how these 
Federal programs and food programs helped the Arkansas Foodbank 
respond to the increased need for food assistance during the 
pandemic?
    Mrs. Sanders. Absolutely. TEFAP commodities is truly a 
lifeline within rural communities. The expansion of the funding 
for that and the purchases that were made and that were 
provided were just enormous in helping us meet the need. In the 
last year and a half, we have distributed 13 million pounds 
worth of commodities, CSFP, and half of that, over half of that 
went into rural communities. You can just see very easily the 
effect that it has.
    Additionally, the Farm to Food box, the CFAP program, was 
very helpful. It was a new adventure for us. There were good 
things out of it, and there were challenges with it, but that 
alone provided eight million pounds of food in 2020 and 2021, 
when there was just such an extreme need.
    So us being able to utilize that food, utilize our 300 
agencies--and actually out of our 300 agencies, over 90 of them 
are TEFAP-eligible agencies. They have met all of those 
requirements. To be able to partner with us, our local 
communities, building their capacity, and then the financial 
support for food from the Farm Bill truly makes a great 
partnership, and it provides us with so much assistance that we 
really--we must have it.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Thank you so much.
    Mr. Hasten, in your testimony, you mentioned the unique 
challenges that electric co-ops face in financing innovative 
technologies and particularly compared to your for-profit 
counterparts. What are some of the examples of the new and 
cleaner technologies your electric co-ops would like to adopt 
if they have adequate incentives, and how could RUS assist 
cooperatives in adopting these new technologies?
    Mr. Hasten. Thank you. We serve 74, 75 counties here in 
Arkansas, but we really only serve one-third of the population. 
I think that puts co-ops at kind of a natural disadvantage on 
the cost of electricity.
    As you are talking about moving toward cleaner electric 
sources, really, here in Arkansas the technology of choice 
would probably be solar. Wind is not a really good resource 
here, and that is really kind of the game in town.
    The way the tax credits work is if you put it in, right now 
it is at 26 percent, but if you are a co-op you cannot get that 
full value, so you have to go out and find some third party. A 
lot of people that--I think you said earlier: If you make a 
product, that is good. If you push papers, what are you really 
doing? There is a lot of people that push papers, that siphon 
value off of that, and so therefore, a co-op putting in solar 
is at a disadvantage compared to a for profit company because 
they cannot get the same advantage. That would be the same 
thing, too, if you were to try to do storage.
    There is a lot of solar and storage going in as we try to 
supplement our diverse portfolio with these types of resources, 
and so one place would be a direct pay system where co-ops 
would have a very--it would be an equal playing field for us to 
be able to use those technologies. Otherwise, our members pay 
more for the same thing.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Great. All right. I understand 
completely.
    Mr. Cole, let me ask you, I was really pleased to hear you 
talk about the Young and Beginning Farmers Conference. It 
really sounds terrific, the AgHeritage conference that you had 
earlier this year. I know that these types of initiatives are 
really important for us, and that is one of the reasons in the 
Farm Bill we have the Farming Opportunities Training and 
Outreach Program, to reach out to new farmers and beginning 
farmers. We have included veteran farmers in that as well, 
which is very important.
    Could you talk a little bit more about the conference and 
how access to credit contributes to the success of these 
farmers?
    Mr. Cole. Yes. Thanks for the question and a very good one. 
You know, obviously, we are very focused on our young and 
beginning farmers. As we know, that is the lifeblood of the 
organization, being a cooperative over 100 years.
    We here in Arkansas, the three associations, co-op 
together, and we have a conference every other year in Little 
Rock. We bring in very good speakers and then to basically talk 
about a variety of topics.
    One of the main focuses, as you know, as agriculture 
continues to evolve and the business model shifts, you know, it 
is more intellectual-centric versus labor centric, like it was 
over 100 years ago. We always say in the ag lending space, 
those that generate--or, those that obtain the intellectual 
capital will generate the financial capital. There is a lot of 
education pieces to understand what the young and beginning 
farmers are getting into, basically the job description if you 
will, to give them a variety of resources on production, 
finance, you know, legal, all these kinds of things there, and 
we bring those to that.
    Also, we are very big on peer groups. They get to come here 
and through the whole State--they are from each area of the 
State here, from poultry to crop to livestock to the timber and 
everything, and they can also develop a peer group and continue 
to build that relationship and to bounce things off. As you 
know, in development, mentorship, information, everything.
    The focus of the system is to be able to facilitate 
knowledge and information because in our world it is this: If 
we help young farmers make good decisions, guess what? We just 
make good loans, and we have a future together. That is a major 
focus on it, on the system as well as here in Arkansas, and it 
will continue to be for the system. Again, it is the lifeblood 
of the system.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Great. Thank you.
    Ms. Bowles, you mentioned in your testimony the importance 
of collaboration between the Federal Communications Commission, 
the Department of Agriculture----
    Ms. Bowles. Yes.
    Chairwoman Stabenow.--the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration, if we are going to really have 
rural high-speed internet like we need it everywhere.
    During your time at the Advisory Committee at the FCC, what 
did you see as the strengths of the USDA's broadband program, 
and where should the agencies continue to improve?
    Ms. Bowles. The USDA's strength--the USDA actually has 
several strengths in their broadband program. One is the focus 
specifically on rural communities and what rural communities 
need.
    Another strength is their mapping because they actually 
would take people on the ground. They did not--the FCC maps, 
which we know, are currently sort of sketchy because they are 
based a lot on what providers say coverage is and they are 
usually a year to 18 months behind. What USDA would do is they 
would put boots on the ground and actually map coverage, and so 
they have sort of an agency expertise around mapping that they 
utilize to ensure that broadband was going to those that were 
the most needed.
    I think that to some extent USDA had taken the position 
that they wanted to cover everybody before they improve some 
people, and with the broadband goal post moving as much as it 
does, that created sort of the sense of constantly catching up 
within the USDA program because the FCC is moving the goal 
post.
    I think we have pretty much settled. I think NTIA has it 
right. You know, 25/3, if you do not have that, you are 
unserved. It is 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up you are unserved. 100 
Mbps down/20 Mbps up, if you do not have that, you are 
underserved. Those definitions, I think, could be used in the 
whole-of-government approach.
    And from the mapping perspective, I think USDA can be 
encouraged to consult with the FCC. They are currently--FCC is 
currently putting together a broadband mapping fabric that is 
supposed to be the definitive map. For that truly to be 
definitive, then NTIA and USDA and the FCC need to take this 
whole-of-government approach. It is really important in 
broadband that we have a single map that everyone can go to and 
say, yes, this is the map.
    And that will not work unless USDA is consulting with the 
FCC and saying, listen, this is what I know is going on in 
rural America because that is not the FCC's focus. The way they 
do their mapping is a little bit different from USDA. I think 
USDA has a huge role to play with the FCC, particularly in 
mapping, to get them to ensure that that map is truly accurate.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Great. Thank you. I agree.
    Senator Boozman, I will turn it to you.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Rhonda, the Farm Bill authorizes several commodity 
distribution programs, like The Emergency Food Assistance 
Program and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. What has 
been your experience with the programs? Do you have 
recommendations on how we can improve them?
    I would also note that about a third of your pantries use 
the USDA programs, and I am impressed that you are able to 
distribute across so many rural counties. Are there unique 
challenges to the rural communities participating in the 
programs, and if so, how could we update the programs to better 
reach those areas?
    I know that you have just got a lot going on with inflation 
and this and that. It has got to be very difficult.
    Mrs. Sanders. Thanks for that question. Yes, sir. 
Obviously, the Foodbank has worked with the USDA programs for 
years and has been a distributor of TEFAP product, a 
commodities, as well as CSFP, and as I mentioned, the Farm to 
Family food boxes recently. It is clearly 20 percent to 30 
percent of our inventory and distribution in a normal year.
    In the pandemic, in the height of the pandemic, USDA 
product became 60 to 70 percent what we had to distribute. We 
worked closely with it.
    The challenges that are facing rural Arkansas and any rural 
community is the capacity and the infrastructure that is there. 
There are very steep requirements to be a TEFAP commodity 
distribution point. Looking toward the ways that some of those 
can be streamlined, can be made easier, there could even be 
additional capacity dollars when you are serving high rural 
communities because there are times that we have to just kind 
of take it over and travel thousands of square miles during our 
year to make sure that that food gets there.
    That is probably the No. 1 challenge that we have with 
operating the USDA programs within our service area. It is 
having those distribution points. I would love to suggest those 
dollars be considered as some extra things for rural 
communities within it.
    Obviously, the ability to get food right now is at the top 
of my personal list, and I want to encourage that we continue 
to maintain and increase the dollars that are there to purchase 
food because it is a lifeline, it is high quality, highly 
nutritious food, and it is much needed.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you so much, and we do 
appreciate all of your hard work.
    Mrs. Sanders. Thank you.
    Senator Boozman. Buddy, you noted in your testimony RUS has 
been an important partner to our Arkansas electric co-ops over 
the decades. As we continue to exercise oversight of USDA while 
beginning discussions about what the next Farm Bill should look 
like, can you talk a little bit more about which programs under 
USDA Rural Development you believe are the most effective and 
which programs need improvement?
    Mr. Hasten. Absolutely. I think RUS has been very 
effective. It has been a really great program for rural co-ops 
all across America. It is used widely. As I said in my oral 
comments, I think the fear that it may be unavailable for those 
funds for a wide diversity of generation sources for us is a 
fear we have, so that is why we would advocate to keep that 
program open.
    You know, we focus on reliability and affordability, and we 
are not-for-profit. We really do try to keep energy affordable. 
That program is really good.
    As far as rural broadband, the ReConnect program, I think 
that program is really good in the sources of funding and I 
think the focus on trying to get broadband to rural America. I 
would say that program probably is one that could be looked at. 
It really, I think, was set up more for a telco business 
structure, not an electric cooperative business structure. It 
is really hard for co-ops to use it, I think.
    Senator Boozman, I think there has been two co-ops in 
Arkansas that applied and were denied. You know, it requires a 
brand new environmental review for existing infrastructure. A 
lot of times we are just putting fiber up on existing 
infrastructure we have to get it to the rural members. A 
requirement that you have to use--you cannot use more than 50 
percent contractors. There are just certain rules in that 
program that are hard for a small rural co-op.
    We have got people, I think, in Arkansas co-ops ready to do 
projects, but they are really just waiting on the programs and 
in some cases being denied the programs.
    I think the reality is rural America needs broadband 
sooner, not later. I think that would be a program I would 
really advocate taking a hard look at and seeing if it could be 
readjusted a bit and streamlined so that some of these types of 
rural co-ops could use the program and get that money flowing 
the way it is intended to flow.
    Then I would say the RESP program, great program. It is 
used, and we really appreciate the funding that goes into that 
program.
    Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you.
    Dennis, RUS has been an important partner also to rural 
water for many years. Looking at the Farm Bill, what 
recommendations do you have, wearing a different hat, regarding 
programs under USDA Rural Development? What specific RD 
programs do you believe are most effective, and again, which 
ones do we need to work on?
    Mr. Sternberg. Well, as far as Arkansas Rural Water 
Association, the loan and grant program to the water systems is 
essential. The utilities need that, and that has always been 
there, and I thank the Ag Committee for doing that.
    With our programs, the technical assistance side provided 
to water and wastewater systems every day across the State and 
across the Nation, continued support of that and making--
potentially, like the wastewater program I mentioned in my 
verbal statements or testimony, extend it out to a five-year 
like the Circuit Rider is, the contract. That would be 
essential to help for stability.
    One of the things we are finding--and I heard earlier 
today--is just hiring good people. It is getting harder and 
harder. You know, especially in the environment right now, when 
we pay mileage to--we do not furnish vehicles to all of our 
staff. We do to part of them. You are paying a mileage rate, 
and the fuel costs are going way out of sight, and we are 
limited on what we can pay based on the Federal Government. I 
did convince my board yesterday in a full board meeting to 
subsidize that mileage rate to help the employees. Those types 
of programs.
    Emergency response is crucial to Arkansas Rural Water, and 
I am very proud of what we have done over the years. I served 
four years as the Chairman of the National Rural Water 
Association's Emergency Response Committee. We have been to 
Florida, Louisiana, going in and assisting, not taking all our 
resources. We have big mobile generators, trucks, trailers. We 
have a vac truck, sewer cameras. We take whatever is needed and 
personnel down to these States. It has been effective because 
they need help immediately.
    I mean, it is something that somehow or another we need to 
look at it real close in the Farm Bill and see how we could 
tweak that to get something in there to help.
    Senator Boozman. Very good.
    Mr. Sternberg. Thank you.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you.
    Greg, in your testimony, you talked about the importance of 
crop insurance. Can you tell us about the role it plays during 
the underwriting process and how it impacts the type and size 
of loan a producer might qualify for?
    Mr. Cole. Yes, obviously, crop insurance is a key risk 
management tool and especially in the U.S., and we really work 
that in the system. You know, I think when you go and mentioned 
earlier in regions some of it is more varied than others. You 
know, in the Midwest, it is absolutely critical. You know, when 
we make loans in production, you know, the risk is they do not 
get the yield or they do not get the price. A revenue-type 
product is a good, lower safety net in that. It is very 
critical.
    Now here in the Midsouth, as you know, because the biggest 
risk is obviously production, we have irrigation. It is a 
little bit flip-flop and a little bit about those title--you 
know, the Title I. You know, the PLC payments are really 
vitally important here. That is in combination with a crop 
insurance.
    So, yes, it is very important because a farmer needs a 
safety net, the ag lender, because basically the crop insurance 
basically is used as collateral to repay the loans there 
because it covers those if you have a revenue structure there.
    We really support--I think the crop insurance program has 
worked categorically. It does work admittedly better in the 
Midwest than it does here, and that has been identified, but it 
is still important, especially for replant and things like 
that. When you couple crop insurance in with really the 
profit--the PLC payments here, you have got a real good, solid 
foundation to cover replant risk there as well as, you know, 
market adjustments.
    That adds to the other risk that--you know, the other big 
investment, obviously, and that is when we finance a lot of the 
irrigation systems because, again, that is a big risk 
mitigator.
    Senator Boozman. Very good.
    Elizabeth, in the latest round of funding for the ReConnect 
broadband program, USDA made several changes to the 
requirements from earlier rounds that are likely to favor one 
technology solution over another and allow for potential awards 
to go to areas that already have high-speed broadband. As we 
look to the next Farm Bill, what improvements can be made to 
USDA broadband programs to ensure that we are serving all rural 
communities with high-speed broadband while also being good 
stewards of taxpayer dollars and avoiding overbuilding?
    Ms. Bowles. One of the things that is floating around now 
sort of at the national level is that we need to have this 
fiber-proof network--this future-proof network which is going 
to be predominantly fiber, and that is coming from NTIA and 
other agencies that have singular money that they are putting 
in.
    Yes, the middle mile is very important, and fiber is 
oftentimes the best solution for that. When we are talking 
about rural America and you are talking about these extremely 
sparsely populated areas, fiber may be prohibitively expensive. 
As I said in my testimony, you will run out of money before you 
serve everybody. It is very important for the last mile 
programs like ReConnect that we not mandate a technology like 
fiber or, for that matter, a fiber proxy like 100 Mbps up/100 
Mbps down, which can only be done fiber.
    It is important that we maintain this technology neutrality 
because there are a lot of technologies that can deliver 100/
20. If the ultimate goal is gigabit everywhere, the Farm Bill 
has the opportunity to reach that over a pathway of time 
because you have every five years you renew. The Farm Bill can 
adjust for technology.
    I have a beef with future-proof anyway because nothing in 
the internet is future-proof. I mean, in the 90's, we thought 
DSL was going to be the end of it. A lot of rural America has 
DSL, and they cannot upload their, you know, data at the end of 
the day.
    We do not know that fiber is future-proof, and we do not 
know that other technologies are not going to emerge. I think 
it is very important that the Farm Bill not fall into that trap 
and that the ReConnect program, in particular, maintain 
technology neutrality and focus on can they get 100/20 because 
really that is it, if they can get 100 Mbps down/20 Mbps up, 
with the understanding that we are on a pathway to better 
speeds, we are on a pathway to different technologies.
    The only other thing I will say toward that is if we were 
very serious about this and talking about, you know, food 
security being a national security issue and talking about 
resiliency and disaster recovery, we would be deploying both 
fiber in the ground and fixed wireless in the air because one 
is down, the other one is up. I think there is no answer of 
which one of those technologies should be going first except 
that we have an economic incentive to make sure that more 
people get served, but I think we actually need both of those 
things.
    Senator Boozman. Thank you.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Chairwoman Stabenow. Well, thank you very much. Thank you 
to all of you. This has been terrific, to be able to hear your 
insights and suggestions, and we certainly will put them to 
good use.
    At this point, let me thank--as we conclude the hearing, 
let me thank again my good friend, Senator Boozman, for the 
opportunity to be here with you today, and also our dedicated 
staff. I know that we both agree that the folks that do the 
hard work, not only on the hearings but every single day, are 
people that we are very grateful to for their expertise and, 
frankly, their dedication to all of these issues.
    There is no question that our farmers and ranchers can meet 
the moment if given the right tools and the right conditions, 
and that is really what we strive to do through the Farm Bill 
is to create those opportunities.
    We want to thank all of the witnesses. We want to thank 
everybody who has come to be a part of this and listen today. 
We need you to stay engaged and stay at the table to help us 
move this process forward. The voices that come to the table, 
the more we can have a big, broad coalition of food and 
agriculture and rural communities working together the better 
success we will have at getting this done. Again, I want to 
thank you for the chance to be here with all of you today.
    The record will be open for five business days for any 
members that wish to submit questions or statements, and at 
this moment the hearing is adjourned.

    [Whereupon, at 12:28 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

      
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                            A P P E N D I X

                             June 17, 2022

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