We cannot keep doing things the way they’ve always been done. In Lapwai, Idaho, our family farm business produces small grains, pulse crops, oilseeds, cattle and timber. Like our farming neighbors all across the country, we’re uncertain what our operations will look like in five, 10 or 20 years.
The U.S. lost 15,000 farms in 2025. USDA predicts that farmers will spend more than they will make from growing crops and raising livestock in 2026. Farms across the country are being stretched thinner and thinner. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, farmers are taking more, larger operating loans while taking longer to repay them. What does that mean? Farmers are taking on more debt to offset rising costs as margins tighten.
As the mother of a 5-year-old farm kid, I ask myself: What kid has the American dream of taking on a mountain of debt to run a business that is likely to lose money while feeding a world that often doesn’t like how we grow food? We’re doing what we can to change that narrative, but we can’t do it alone.
USDA estimates that government assistance to farmers will increase 45% in 2026, a record high. While helpful, they are simply bandaging a bleeding system. There is a perfect storm of depressed prices, deteriorating trade relationships, rising input costs and volatile weather patterns creating serious stress among farms and rural communities across the country.
But we have hope. As a child, I watched my dad and his farm partners survive the financial pressures of the 1980s. That era arguably made our business stronger, as the pressure drove strict financial discipline and innovation. But farms like ours that survived didn’t do it in a vacuum. We benefited from thoughtful, targeted public investment in agriculture and rural communities – particularly in innovative research, conservation technology, crop insurance enhancements and market development.
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We have the same opportunity under today’s economic pressure to get stronger – to roll up our sleeves and make our operations and our rural communities more attractive places to live, work and grow food. If we can better manage volatility in weather, inputs, markets and productivity, we have a fighting chance of passing on our family farm business to the next generation.
This is where targeted public investment in agriculture has real power. Durable policies investing in innovative research, conservation, risk management and market development will strengthen profitability and protect the long-term resilience of our land. This is the time to stand firmly behind those investments.
Agricultural innovation and conservation practices improve soil health and the longevity and productivity of our systems. These practices not only improve our resiliency but make our operation economically sustainable and attractive to the next generation.
Conservation programs have been critical in helping us adapt our farming practices to reflect the latest conservation research and technologies. Together with technical assistance, these programs ensure our economic and environmental sustainability goals move forward together. USDA must also be equipped with the staff and funding to deliver assistance on the ground.
Thoughtful implementation of existing programs will help improve farm resilience in the near-term, but as we look toward long-term sustainability of our operations, producers need continued investment in robust research to stay competitive. Research and innovation take time, but the dividends are huge. Investing in agricultural research and development as well as public-private research partnerships can accelerate innovation from the lab to the field and keep American agriculture locally robust and globally competitive.
Our family farm business celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025. As the bearer of the torch leading the fourth generation of our business, the pressure is on to make sure we don’t sunset at that milestone. Our goal is to have a profitable, innovative and environmentally sustainable farming operation that is an attractive future career option for my 5-year-old son or other members of the next generation.
As farmers, we’re committed to doing our part to contribute to food security and a strong rural America now and into the next generation. We need continued partnerships and investment in conservation, research and innovation to get there.
Cori Wittman Stitt is the CEO and CFO of Wittman Farms, a family-owned crop, cattle and timber operation in Lapwai, Idaho. She is also a member of Environmental Defense Fund’s farmer advisory network.