Congressman Frank Lucas Discusses Farm Bill Progress, Trade Strategy, and Screw Worm Threats

At the recent 580 Cattle Conference in Woodward, Oklahoma, Congressman Frank Lucas shared insights on the advancement of the 2025 Farm Bill, trade strategies, and emerging agricultural threats.

 

Lucas acknowledged the challenges in passing a comprehensive Farm Bill, citing ideological divisions in Congress. He commended Chairman Thompson for securing essential funding, stating, "Let's come up with enough savings that we can fund the fundamental parts of the farm bill process... let's do it for six years." He noted that agricultural provisions remained largely untouched during debates, allowing critical funding mechanisms to be established.

 

Emphasizing the importance of Title One of the Farm Bill, Lucas highlighted its role in funding crop insurance and price protection programs, serving as a safety net for producers. He pointed out that updates reflect real changes in the agricultural economy, considering factors like COVID-19, trade wars, inflation, and European conflicts that have raised producer input costs. While cattle producers might be doing well now, "everybody else is having tough times," justifying the need for safety net adjustments.

 

Looking ahead to what some are calling the "skinny" or "light" Farm Bill, Lucas explained the continued emphasis on crop insurance and voluntary producer participation. "Participate if you want, if you don't want to, don't participate... pay those premiums, have that protection, be able to go to your banker and say, 'I'm doing everything I can to protect my farming operation.'" He stressed the importance of flexibility and local control in shaping agricultural policy, rather than relying on mandates or outside regulation.

 

Lucas also highlighted a growing threat from the New World screw worm fly and the urgent need to reinvest in sterile fly production. "They will eat livestock alive... and they will eat you alive if you have an infestation as a human being," he warned. He praised Secretary Rollins for decisive action and described the fly control program as a public good: "It's not chemicals, it's not something funky. It is simply something as basic as X-rays to sterilize billions of flies." Lucas believes that restoring and expanding the sterile fly program should be a top priority in the upcoming bill.

 

On trade and tariffs, Lucas acknowledged growing concerns but stood by the Trump administration's approach. "President Trump is, as my old grandfather would have said, a horse trader... he's making progress," Lucas said, citing gains with Japan and Europe. He stressed the importance of exports to his district: "85% of the cotton in this country goes out. 40% of the wheat raised in this country goes out." Lucas also spoke about energy trade with Europe, saying, "We truly do sit on... an ocean of natural gas," and argued that increasing exports of American energy to the European Union, displacing natural gas from Russia, would be "a better gift to Putin than selling the world American natural gas for money."

 

Lucas's remarks underscore the complexities of agricultural policy and the multifaceted challenges facing producers today.