On a Wednesday edition of Mobile radio's FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," State Sen. David Sessions (R-Grand Bay) discussed several topics related to Alabama's agricultural industry, including the potential impact of the war in Iran on fuel prices for the state's farmers.
"I hope the conflict in Iran can be resolved sooner rather than later," Sessions told Poor. "I don't think we depend on any of their oil. However, their oil is 20% of the supply in the world's pipeline. So, it affects our prices. You see this $5 diesel way up here. I was looking at the gas stations' diesel, and it's already at $5, and that's huge on our economic impact. It's going to create a little bump in inflation here. I'm just hoping and praying that we get out of there sooner rather than later."
Sessions expressed concern for the future of farming in the state, particularly grain production, as other countries around the world are substantially increasing their own output.
"We're not the powerhouse agriculture production that we used to be. You have other countries that are producing a lot of products now," explained Sessions, "Argentina, Brazil. They're clearing land like crazy and increasing their production, along with increasing their infrastructure. Back in the 80s, when we had the issue, we were still the world leader. We were still the breadbasket of the world."
Sessions added, "That is kind of slipping, and it's really sad that I can see our grain production at some point in the future being imported instead of being a major exporter."
Sessions spoke about the importance of federal subsidies for farmers facing difficulties, including those potentially caused by the ongoing conflict in Iran.
"Being in the agriculture community, there's no doubt that in the mid-80s and early 90s, we were dependent on federal subsidies to survive and to help," he noted. "When people talk about subsidies, they get a little misunderstanding. It's not a huge part of the farming income, but it can surely make a difference between being able to pay all your bills and actually getting deeper into your line of credit. I'll be the first to say that I've always felt that it was more of a food security issue than it was an economic issue.
"I always felt like we should be in the Department of Defense rather than the Department of Agriculture," concluded Sessions.
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