Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) joined us Wednesday morning for a conversation on his farm bill priorities, the looming government shutdown and agricultural innovations.
Warnock blasted a potential government shutdown as “totally unnecessary.” With less than a week before the federal government runs out of money, a shutdown is looking increasingly likely.
“As I’m talking to ordinary citizens, the last thing they need is the kind of uncertainty and disruption that this will cause,” Warnock said. The Senate looks set to pass a short-term continuing resolution with money for disaster aid and Ukraine support, but that is dead on arrival in the GOP-controlled House.
Warnock highlighted what he views as a “false choice” in farm bill negotiations between support for food assistance programs versus agriculture programs.
“We can support SNAP programs, and we can support commodities and we can have a kind of long-term view that ensures that the Georgia ag community is sustainable, resilient and thrives well into the future,” Warnock said.
On Tuesday, Warnock joined dozens of his Democratic colleagues in calling for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to step down. The Georgia Democrat reiterated his position today:
Afterward, Jessica Christiansen, head of sustainability and business stewardship at Bayer, and Kyle Bridgeforth, owner and operating partner at Bridgeforth Farms, joined us for a fireside chat.
Christiansen said regenerative agriculture — where farmers rotate crops to improve soil health — can be an effective tool to combat climate change.
“So regenerative is not only reducing more or less, it’s producing more while restoring more,” Christiansen said.
Bridgeforth called on policymakers to help expand access to capital for farmers looking to adopt new technologies.
“There needs to be a suite of financing options and access to capital for all growers, whether it’s in the form of low-interest loans from the government, or it’s in the form of grant funding for specific programs,” Bridgeforth said.
— Max Cohen
