U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) joined a bipartisan group of their U.S. Senate colleagues in requesting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) support the nation’s sugar beet farmers that have been beleaguered by bad weather.
“The past two years have been devastating for cooperative farmers working in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming due to significant weather events,” Sens. Gardner, Fischer and their colleagues wrote in a Jan. 30 letter sent to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. “In 2018 and 2019, growing regions across these states experienced freezing temperatures in early October before sugar beets are typically harvested.”
The members urged USDA to take immediate action in implementing the sugar beet eligibility provisions that were passed in the fiscal year 2020 appropriations bill as a part of the Wildfire, Hurricane, and Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+).
“Since its inception, this program has been essential for farmers during adverse weather growing seasons,” wrote Sens. Fischer, Gardner, and their fellow senators. “Currently, USDA’s swift action is necessary for Western Sugar Cooperative’s farmers in order to obtain operating loans for the 2020 crop in the next 30 days.”
The senators added that the cooperative farmers did take all necessary steps to harvest their sugar beets to keep the cooperative viable and deliver sugar to their customers, “however, frozen beets are more expensive to process and produce less sugar. Because farmer shareholders directly cover these costs, they threaten their immediate future to farm and the viability of their cooperative.”
Among those joining Sen. Fischer and Sen. Gardner in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Michael Bennet (D-CO).
The senators also requested that Secretary Perdue “expedite the process to ensure that it is effective and timely.”