Sugarbeet growers want improved loan rates in next farm bill

Sugarbeet growers are asking Congress for the nation’s sugar policy to better reflect today’s costs.

Michigan farmer Allyson Maxwell, while testifying before a recent Senate Ag Committee hearing on the farm bill, says the U.S. Sugar program operates at no cost to taxpayers, but loan rates authorized by the farm bill need improvement.

“The loan rate for refined beet sugar has not kept up with inflation nor the steeply rising costs of production,” she says. 

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