America’s farmer and ranchers suffering through tough economic prices need the help that only direct farm payments can provide. That’s according to National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson. He says while that may not be a very popular solution, it’s one that Congress needs to follow through on to stop the bleeding in farm country.

He says the economic drop is across the board covering all sectors of agriculture and one step that needs to be taken is to give the Ag Secretary more authority to release funds to assist producers. He says most of that authority was deleted when the last farm bill was passed.

Johnson says the price problem in the cattle industry is a structural one.

He says the cattle market needs to be open and transparent for it to work. Johnson says Congress needs to get moving during the Lame Duck Session to try and address the ag economic downturn.