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“Sugarbeet Report” presented by NDSU Extension, features growing tips from NDSU sugar beet specialists and researchers.
This is the Sugar Beet Report, bringing you the latest information from NDSU throughout the sugar beet growing season. Right now, the focus for most sugar beet farmers is getting into the field. But what about the politics that can encompass a farmer's operation? Our guest today is Harrison Weber, the executive director of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association. Harrison, what does the political landscape look like right now?
Harrison Weber:Yeah. Bruce, if you've watching the news, it looks like 2026 is shaping up to be another year of Democrats and Republicans being divided as ever. And while it looks like nothing's getting done in DC, the fact of the matter is we do have some recent victories in the last year and also some opportunities on the horizon.
Bruce Sundeen:What kind of political changes are we seeing?
Harrison Weber:Right now, as we sit here today, the house is working on passing a farm bill. In March, the house ag committee actually passed a bipartisan bill out of committee, and that's going to be potentially moving to the floor here as early as this week as we stand here today for final passage. Now, a majority of our Farm Bill asks were actually included in the budget reconciliation package, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, but there are some important sugar provisions that need to be reauthorized in this Farm Bill, such as the Feedstock Flexibility Program, as well as language that ensures that the Sugar Program continues to operate even during times of a government shutdown. This is really the most progress that we've seen on the farm bill since the expiration in 2023. We are optimistic that it passes the house, but always remains to be seen.
Bruce Sundeen:How about looking forward? What do you see?
Harrison Weber:With all these improvements, we're still seeing substantial cost price squeeze at the farm. So we're looking at short term and long term solutions. Most recently, the solutions included making sure the USDA included sugar beets as part of the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program. We're currently pushing Congress to enact more market and weather assistance. We're investigating molasses imports that are evading the tariff rate quota. We're looking at improvements to the Mexico Suspension Agreement. And then our long term fix is seeking higher over quota tariffs on raw and refined sugar. None of these remedies are gonna be easy to accomplish. They'll take time and significant effort to achieve, but we're we're determined to push congress and the administration to enact these various policies to restore balance in The US market profitability on the farm for us.
Bruce Sundeen:What do you expect for this fall?
Harrison Weber:2026 is an election year. We're expecting a high turnover in congress with over 70 members retiring, resigning, dying, or seeking some form of another office. And so it's really gonna be a lot of work here to get to know all these new members of Congress. That's why we're here, that's the job that we step out to do. But we really wanna make sure that they understand how important a strong domestic industry is for not only farmers, but also their constituents and consumers across the nation.
Bruce Sundeen:Harrison, what do you think a good formula for success is in Washington?
Harrison Weber:One thing that we like to see is a bipartisan approach. Good policy, good ag policy is when there are Democrats, Republicans coming together and voting for policy. We saw a bipartisan bill come out of committee with seven Democrats joining the Republicans. I think it remains to be seen what shakes out on the house floor, but we'd like to see Democrats come across the aisle and vote with Republicans. The Republicans that are willing to vote for it and get something across here. We also wanna ensure that we put Humpty Dumpty back together as the political pendulum swings from right to left. Ag policy relies on certainty and not those wild swings in politics as we try to put Humpty Dumpty back together here and have Democrats and Republicans align forces to support strong rural egg policy for our farmers across the nation.
Bruce Sundeen:Thanks, Harrison. Our guest has been Harrison Weber, executive director of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association. This is the Sugar Beet Report, bringing you the latest information from NDSU throughout the sugar beet growing season.