As input prices go up and commodity prices go down, farmers rely on the reference prices in the farm safety net to help stay in business when margins get squeezed. Betty Resnick, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), explained the basics of reference prices.
Resnick said reference prices need to be updated in the next farm bill.
There are several ways to raise reference prices, but Resnick said AFBF hasn’t advocated for one specific fix.
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