Jeff Kirwan spoke to the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. Moline Congresswoman Cheri Bustos is the chair and invited him to be one of five witnesses during the hearing.
Kirwan told the lawmakers crop prices dropped dramatically in 2018 during the trade war. Record flooding hit the agriculture sector in 2019. And last year, the pandemic caused serious interruptions in the supply chain, and a derecho caused billions of dollars in damages.
And he said farm programs functioned well over the last three years.
Wednesday's hearing is available on YouTube. It's called "A Hearing to Review the Efficacy of the Farm Safety Net.”