Iowa farmers and producers are the backbone of our economy, and they need our support now more than ever. Today, I spoke at a House Agriculture hearing about the real challenges hitting our livestock industry—skyrocketing egg prices, devastating disease outbreaks, and the urgent need for action.
Egg prices are at record highs, largely due to the ongoing bird flu crisis. We talked about how to protect our poultry industry while making sure Iowa families aren’t paying more at the grocery store. Meanwhile, our turkey farmers are facing another crisis—avian metapneumovirus (aMPV)—which wiped out over 500,000 birds last year. Yet, there’s not a single federal program to help these producers recover. That’s just not right.
That’s why I led the Iowa Congressional Delegation in calling on the USDA take immediate action to make relief funding available for our turkey farmers.
Bottom Line: Congress must pass the Farm Bill as soon as possible to give our livestock producers the certainty they need and keep Iowa’s agricultural economy strong.