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Alto, La. (KNOE) - Rice Farmer John Owen says inflation and recent tariffs are undermining the 2018 farm bill and increasing the need for a new one.

“We’ve had about three years of prices that were below the cost of production,” Owen said. “We’ve gone, we’re almost three years without a meaningful farm bill. ”

However, he is excited about new developments in the local industry and believes provisions in the recent federal budget are a step in the right direction.

“I would say one of the biggest things in the last few years is we have a rice mill in Mer Rouge now, the Kennedy Rice Mill and the Four Sisters brands of packaged rice,” Owen said. “There’s some new rice varieties that in South Louisiana, and they’re grown up here some too.”

Owen also said the best way to support local farmers is to buy American-made products.

“When you’re a consumer, you’re in the grocery store, you want to pick up a bag of rice, look at that bag and make sure it’s grown in the USA. There’s a logo on it, if it is,” Owen said. “It says grown in the USA, and you are supporting American rice farmers with your purchase, and you’re buying the highest quality, safest rice on the market.”

Source : msn