With the current Farm Bill set to expire Sept. 30, corn growers are heading back to Capitol Hill with a blunt message for lawmakers: another year of delay is becoming a financial burden farmers simply cannot afford.
Matt Frostic, a Michigan farmer and First Vice President of the National Corn Growers Association, says producers are already feeling the squeeze from a farm economy that has delivered too little financial breathing room for too long.
“As a farmer, we can’t take another year of this from a financial standpoint,” Frostic says.
That urgency is driving Frostic and other agricultural leaders back into senators’ offices as Congress returns from recess.
Their objective is straightforward: get lawmakers moving on a new five-year Farm Bill before the Sept. 30 expiration date.
For farmers, Frostic says the consequences of continued inaction won’t stop at the farm gate.
“And it has a rippling effect from not only our farms, but across the industries and across financial institutions that it would put a big scar in our country,” he says. “So, it’s not just agriculture. It’s food safety, it’s national defense. It encompasses a lot of things. And this is just the first start to bringing an ag economy back into a robust position.”
The pressure comes at a particularly difficult time for producers.
Input costs remain a concern, commodity prices have squeezed margins and many farmers are heading into harvest with little room for another financial setback.
For corn growers, one of the biggest opportunities in the Senate’s Farm Bill proposal is permanent, year-round E15.
Frostic says expanding access to the higher-ethanol blend could provide a rare win for both sides of the pump—giving consumers another fuel choice while strengthening demand for U.S.-grown corn.
And with fuel prices elevated, he says the economics are already making the case.
“The good news is that right now, because of high fuel prices, there’s a lot of retailers selling this product for 90 cents less than the average 87 product,” Frostic says. “So, it totally makes sense from a consumer choice, and it really makes sense from an ag standpoint to boost our economy, which has been four years in the tank.”
For corn producers, permanent year-round E15 could mean more consistent ethanol demand and another market outlet for the nation’s corn crop.
But Frostic says getting that provision—and the broader Farm Bill—across the finish line won’t happen without pressure from farmers themselves.
His message to producers is simple: make the call. Send the email. Contact your senator.
And don’t assume one farmer’s voice won’t matter.
“I would urge every farmer out there that hears this to make contact with their senators and staff—and give a brief comment about the support and how it impacts your farm is important,” Frostic says.
Frostic says lawmakers notice when the number of farmers speaking up starts to climb.
“I’ve heard from senators before [who said], ‘If I get one or two comments about a policy, it kind of gets shoved to the side, but when 50 people call or email or send a note to me or a text, I know it’s important,’” he says. “So, it really helps us when we’re in those offices. They see the dire need for it at that point.”
That grassroots pressure could become increasingly important as the Sept. 30 deadline approaches.
For farmers, this isn’t simply another Washington debate over legislation.
It is about the farm safety net, markets, energy policy and the economic conditions producers will face during the next five years.
And after years of uncertainty, Frostic says farmers are sending Congress a message that is getting harder to ignore: They need action—not another extension.
With the current Farm Bill once again approaching expiration, the clock is ticking toward Sept. 30.
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