My conversations with Blaske became part of a story, published in December in the Guardian, about the high rate of farmer suicide. As arduous as it is to pass federal legislation, it’s all the more so within something as politically divisive as the $867bn farm bill. On 18 May, the House voted down its final version of the farm bill, with 30 Republicans joining 183 Democrats in defeating the bill. Matt Perdue, a fifth generation farmer from North Dakota and the government relations representative for NFU, says the farmer suicide legislation addresses an immediate need for the group’s 200,000 members. “This could be the difference between life and death for many.”“We were able to get through the 1980s farm crisis, but I couldn’t get through my farmer in crisis,” Ginnie told Ernst.

Source: The Guardian May 23, 2018 09:56 UTC