A Situation That Mirrors the 1980s

South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke was one of nearly 100 farmers on Capitol Hill this week seeking passage of a five-year farm bill. “We really haven’t had a farm bill since 2013,” said Sombke. “Yeah, we had one in 2018, but that was a gotcha bill that basically passed the ’13 bill on. We can’t have this uncertainty, especially if they’re going to pass these tariffs.” Sombke said the current farm economy mirrors the farm crisis days of the 1980s. “I lived through the ’80s; I started farming in 1978 and that wasn’t fun and there were a lot of sleepless nights.” The SDFU leader said the farm economy may be even more challenging today because farmers aren’t as diversified as they were in the 1980s.