Senator Coats meets with southern Indiana farmers

On Saturday, Aug. 4 farmers from Daviess, Pike and Knox counties met with Senator Dan Coats at the Paul Flint farm south of Washington, Ind. They discussed the drought and shared their personal stories of how it is impacting their operations. Sen. Coats has made a concerted effort to visit with Indiana farmers all across the state to get updates on how they are working through this historic drought.

Local farmers shared their concerns about availability of feed and forage supplies for their turkeys, beef and swine herds. All expressed their desire that Congress pass the 2012 Farm Bill that will allow them to make plans for the 2013 crop with time to understand the new crop insurance provisions contained in the bill. Crop insurance is the ultimate safety net for farmers since they cannot control the weather.

One local farmer said he “hoped this drought has driven home that message to our elected officials.”

You can read the Senator’s call to Congress for passage of a Farm Bill on his website.