Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) President Dennis Slater issued the following statement urging the U.S. Senate to pass the 2018 Farm Bill immediately:

“Farm equipment manufacturers depend on a strong farm economy. Now that the House has voted to pass its version of the bill, it is the Senate’s turn to act swiftly to deliver a robust safety net for America’s farmers and ranchers. We applaud the strong bipartisanship displayed by Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow for bringing this important legislation forward. The 320,000 men and women who manufacture agriculture equipment are counting on them and their colleagues in the Senate to pass the Farm Bill this week.”

AEM sent Members of the U.S Senate a letter this week urging them to pass a 2018 Farm Bill. The U.S. House of Representatives voted 213-198 to pass its version of the 2018 Farm Bill last week. 

The Agriculture Improvement Act includes the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018, which is designed to improve rural broadband infrastructure, as well as policies that support production agriculture, crop insurance, conservation programs, research, and expanding foreign markets critical to providing farmers with consistent policy for the next five years. Crop insurance helps protect up to 298 million acres of farmland a year.

320,000 U.S. jobs are supported by agriculture equipment manufacturers and up to $102 billion in sales activity a year is generated by the industry to the U.S. economy. The agricultural equipment sector has been hit hard by a continuing slump in farm income. According to a 2012 IHS Global Insights study, 375,000 Americans were employed in the agricultural equipment industry. In 2017, an updated study showed a loss of 55,000 jobs.

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AEM is the North American-based international trade group representing off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers, with more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and construction-related industry sectors worldwide. The equipment manufacturing industry in the United States supports 1.3 million jobs and contributes roughly $159 billion to the economy every year.