Montana Farmers Union Member Testifies Importance of Credit and Risk Management to Family Farmers 

July 17, 2025

Montana Farmers Union member John Wicks Wednesday testified in front of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management and Credit, to detail the importance of credit and risk management to family farmers. 

In his testimony before the subcommittee, Wicks emphasized the challenges family farmers and ranchers face and how improvements to credit, risk management tools, and other parts of the farm safety net can help them build and sustain successful agricultural operations.

“While access to affordable and reliable credit and well-functioning risk management tools are important for family farmers, we must have fair and competitive markets and a robust farm safety net,” said Wicks. “Farm bankruptcies are on the rise. Recent changes to improve the farm safety net may help alleviate some challenges with persistently high input costs and low commodity prices. But farmers will face major economic stress as long as corporate monopolies in agriculture remain unchecked, the way they are today.” 

To strengthen support for producers, Wicks presented the following recommendations to improve Farm Service Agency loan programs: 

• Increasing loan limits to reflect the current economic environment;  

• Making it more feasible for farmers to restructure debt when needed; and  

• Ensuring these programs meet the unique needs of all types of producers. 

Wicks, a fourth-generation farmer from Montana, owns and operates Tiber Ridge Organics, where he grows lentils, chickpeas, wheat, durum, rye, and barley. 

Source: MFU