Billings, Montana – Every year, farmers strive to predict the weather’s potential effects while also taking some risks.
“We plan for the future, but it’s always unpredictable,” said Gary Broyles, a farmer in Broadview.
“Weather is always risky. You can be fortunate in a dry year, and happen to be in the path of a couple thunderheads that hit you just right, if you’re just off to the edge, it is a difficult year.”
The Broyles family has been farming for nearly 40 years, and because family farms are expanding, they need security to survive.
“Family farms have their own challenges,” said Paul Broyles, a farmer and son of Gary Broyles.
“You would think 50 years ago, a family farm would be kind of smaller in a group of small acreage, but now, I would say these days just because of the cost of production, family farms are getting bigger.”
The Farm Bill’s preparation in Congress is one of the topics of conversation among farmers as they get ready for the New Year.
Every five years, this piece of legislation is renewed.
“It’s very important,” said Sen. Jon Tester.
“Whether it’s a hail storm or a drought, or disease, it’s important to make sure family farms can continually produce food and feed the world and feed this country.”
Senator Tester claimed that as a farmer by trade, he is intimately familiar with the value of crop insurance in challenging years.”In 2021, I didn’t have enough crop to get my seed back,” explained Senator Tester.
“It was because of drought, and because of a hailstorm. It made my crop look like a linoleum floor.”
The Broyles family is upbeat and believes that agriculture has a bright future even as they wait for the Farm Bill to be renewed.
