00:00It's a gentlelady from Illinois, Congresswoman Miller, for five minutes.
00:02Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our panel for being here today to discuss these
00:08important topics. And like Representative Finstead, I also am a fourth-generation farmer
00:14with my husband in central Illinois. We raise corn, cattle, and kids. We also have seven
00:19children. And we are conservation farmers, and we – I understand the challenges that
00:27the family farm faces between being able to pay the bills and afford this great new technology
00:34that's on the scene. So, as you know, Illinois is one of the top producers of corn and soybeans
00:40in the country. So, this is a topic that hits home closely. Illinois farmers have long been
00:47leaders in adopting cutting-edge technologies from precision agriculture to advanced seed
00:53genetics. This is all to increase productivity and to help feed our nation. But as we look
00:59ahead, our producers are also facing real challenges, including regulatory delays, input costs, and
01:07concerns over access to innovation. As we consider the next Farm Bill and other legislative efforts,
01:14we need to ensure that Illinois farmers and others across the country have the tools and
01:19the freedom to innovate, compete, and succeed. And it's kind of interesting, because this
01:25month we're going to be having the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, and it's always a big
01:31deal for our family. And families show up. Family farmers show up and kind of drool over the equipment
01:38that they can't afford. So, as many farmers in my district continue to face tight margins, what steps
01:45can we take to ensure that innovations in crop production are cost-effective and scalable, especially
01:52for farm, family farms?
01:54I'll take a stab at that. We've looked at a lot of innovations on farm, from laser weeders to really
02:04highly precise weeders that will actually spray a minute amount of herbicide on a weed and leave the rest of the crop alone.
02:15But they come with a hefty price. We're talking $750,000 to a million and a half. And for the average grower, that's way out of reach.
02:27Maybe in the long run it can save money, but technology is expensive. I'd love to see maybe a program through NRCS where there could be some help in funding new technology on farm. Get the money directly to the growers. They know what to do with it.
02:45They know what they need. I think that's a good way to advance technology on farm and to improve the ag economy.
02:57Thank you. And Mr. Abbott, Illinois is home to world-class ag research institutions. How can we better leverage land-grant universities and public-private partnerships to accelerate the real-world adoption of future crop innovations?
03:13Well, I can speak right now from companies I formerly have worked for and the company I work for today, we actually do leverage that relationship. We work with contract research organizations. We also work with the different academics throughout not only Illinois, but we work Texas A&M. You go down the list, there's several of them out there that offer good programs and we partner with them so we can get good data back.
03:41And I mean, sometimes good data is, it doesn't work. So then you know exactly where you stand and you move on.
03:48Well, thank you. I yield back, Chairman. Thank you all for coming.
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