As each of you know, agriculture is in a very precarious situation. Low commodity prices brought about by declining world markets combined with a huge stockpile of stocks both in the U.S. and worldwide are the chief causes for our present predicament. This plus poor climatic conditions have recently necessitated large outlays of Federal funds and insurance claims. At a time when the rest of the economy is performing at historically high levels, agriculture, at all levels, is left searching for ways to simply survive. Even though agriculture is the backbone of our nation, both domestically and internationally, we as a nation are left struggling with how to correct the current situation.
Agriculture is a multi-faceted enterprise, which encompasses many layers of American society.
More than anything, the people of agriculture are hardworking, cost conscious, enterprising individuals. We are not looking for a hand out. We would like a hand up. Low prices that have plagued the rice industry for the past few years have become a world- wide phenomenon. I have always heard that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.