Ag News

Farmers share struggles with Collins during farm visit

On May 23, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA 10th District) visited the Greene County farm of AFBF President Zippy Duvall, who took him on a brief tour around the farm and then hosted a group question and answer session with area farmers.

Collins gave updates on the budget reconciliation bill recently passed in the House, tariffs, energy independence, the Waters of the U.S. rule, the farm bill and farm labor.

The farmers took the chance to share their challenges with the congressman.

“I understand that these people are hurting. This is not something that's just happened in the last year or two. This has been decades building on it because farming is generational,” Collins said. “These are second, third, fourth generations of people that are in farming and they've seen the changes that have gradually just put them in a position where they're no longer competitive, especially on the world market. And that's where we need to, as a federal government, make sure that we're not interfering to the point to where they cannot make a living.”

Collins encouraged constituents to continue communicating with their elected representatives in Washington.

Collins discussed farm-related provisions in H.R. 1, the “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” noting that it makes business tax deductions permanent and extends current estate tax exemptions. Collins was one of nine Georgia Republicans to vote for passage.

“We got a lot of things in there,” Collins said. “[Crop] insurance is in there. Section 199 A for income tax deduction on small businesses is in there. The death tax was addressed to make sure … how many farms do you know out there that they have to sell the farm when someone dies just to pay the estate tax? And so, we’ve addressed that.”

The bill extends Price Loss Coverage (PLC), Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and the Dairy Margin Program (AMP) through 2031, according to a summary of the bill on Congress.gov.

Collins said a freeze has been placed on wages for farm labor, set through the Adverse Effective Wage Rate, and he noted that Congress needs to take wage classifications.

“That is something I've heard from every farmer that has visited has talked to us on labor issues the past four years, especially with the changing of how they're classified,” Collins said. “We need to address that. There's no reason that we should be paying farm labor people that are picking crops that are trying to get paid as a truck driver.”

Collins told the area farmers that he’s received assurances from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin that the agency is setting new definition for “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) to only include navigable waters. He said Congress plans to put a permanent definition in statute in 2026.

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