The Cap Times | Brett Carlson, June 8
Summer is near, but planting season is well underway for Wisconsin crop farms like my family’s sixth-generation stead. And while Wisconsin consumers face higher prices, so do our farmers: Costs are up for seed, fertilizer, weed-control and fuel.
Electricity has always been a variable expense that weighs on the bottom line. However, since 2020, electricity bill prices have been on the rise, even hitting a 41-year high since 1981 with a 15.8% increase in 2022.
To help, smart farmers for years have been using a bipartisan rural energy assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Created under President George W. Bush, the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) helps farmers and rural small businesses lower their energy costs by making efficiency upgrades or switching to newer technologies like solar power. The program has enabled tens of thousands of farmers and rural small businesses to stabilize their energy costs. Nearly $10 million in this energy assistance went to Wisconsin farmers and entrepreneurs between 2018 and 2022.
I’ve seen how vital this funding can be for farmers and farms. I started a business to help them navigate these grants, stabilize their energy costs and invest back into their family business.
For farmers and rural businesses, the Inflation Reduction Act has been really successful, making more funds available to reduce one volatile expense, fossil fuels. Not only has the Inflation Reduction Act increased access to these life-changing resources, but awareness and education surrounding the switch to clean energy has also expanded. Seeing it up close, I believe one of the best values for farmers is switching to solar power with the help of USDA’s rural energy assistance program.
Now it’s time for Congress to protect this vital energy lifeline for farmers. In our nation’s capital, senators and representatives are preparing another Farm Bill, a big, recurring funding package that provides multi-year investments to keep rural America strong. And I’m urging Congress to stand by farmers and the REAP program.
This Farm Bill can and must protect funding for solar power and energy efficiency. Early indications are that it will, and if so, that is fantastic.
Of the many volatile expenses that come with farming, energy is one that we can control, thanks to clean energy. And nowadays, it’s become easier than ever to save money by reducing a business’ dependence on oil and gas. The Biden administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act enacted a $2 billion expansion of the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants, part of over $9 billion in rural energy investments.
Back in April, 19 local Wisconsin farms and businesses got $3 million.
Before, the program covered 25% of the costs of a solar panel installation or energy efficiency upgrade. Now, it’s 50%. And both farms and rural small businesses can access the funding.
For years, this rural energy assistance program has been supported by both parties in Washington. Unfortunately, in today’s hyper-partisan world, even this smart, money-saving program for farmers is becoming politicized, and some members of Congress have said they want to gut the program.
This shouldn’t be political. Congress should protect these benefits, certainly when farms like my family’s are already facing increased production costs.
As a nation, we invest in so many priorities. Recently, that’s included billions in foreign aid for our allies and against our adversaries. But we shouldn’t try to save money now by shortchanging farmers. To me, this seems backwards.
It should come down to preserving what this country was built on. Too many family farms and rural small businesses are disappearing due to a host of factors. Now is not the time to abandon them. Now is when we must invest in family farms and local economies, as the priority they are, as the backbone of this country.
So I’m urging Congress: Don’t use the Farm Bill to hurt farmers. Make sure to protect clean energy investments that help farmers protect their bottom line.
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