WASHINGTON, DC – USA Rice joined 15 other agriculture industry organizations to send a strong
letter to President Trump to remind him and his team of both the challenges the sector faces and the value it offers.
“Many experts emphasize that producers must grow as much food in the next 50 years as was produced over all of previous history to meet the demands of our expanding global population. A firm commitment by the U.S. government to aggressively support agricultural innovation and science-based regulatory decisions will be necessary to ensure farmers have the tools they need to produce a safe and abundant supply of nutritious food,” the letter reads.
USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward explained the timing of the letter that will reach the President before his agriculture team is in place.
“The policy and regulatory environment this Administration establishes can ensure agriculture flourishes and we wanted the new administration to know that we are ready to help,” she explained. “The next Farm Bill will be here before we know it and the President’s ag team, presumably led by former Governor Sonny Perdue, needs to hit the ground running and set us on a sound course.”
The diverse group of the CEO's of major ag commodity groups that signed the letter offered their expertise and experience to the White House.
“We are ready to provide the White House and the Executive Branch Departments and Agencies, as well as Congress, with policy concepts that foster stability in the U.S. agriculture economy with a strong and predictable farm safety net and promote American competitiveness through research; marketability and trade of agricultural commodities; rural economic growth; and plant, animal, and environmental health, among many other things,” the letter concludes.