Young Discusses Farm Policy, USDA Budget Cuts
Published: Friday, April 17, 2026
The Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce hosted U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) last Wednesday to discuss current economic conditions, global supply chains and trade, among other things. He also commented on the farm bill, President Donald Trump's budget proposal and the 2026 crop season.
Despite Congress' inability to pass a complete farm bill since 2018, Young is confident that the bill will make it over the finish line.
"We've passed most of the provisions for the farm bill already. This is through the working families tax cut legislation," he said. "There are still some remaining provisions, and those are important to our rural communities and to our farmers in particular, and I hope that we can be bipartisan in this political year."
He vowed to do his part to get the bill across the line.
When asked how the president's recent budget proposal is being received by Congress, particularly in relation to USDA budget cuts, Young said the proposal serves as a stepping off point.
"President Trump's budget proposal starts the conversation, but it's the responsibility of Congress to negotiate and pass the final budget legislation," he said. "Indiana has a direct stake here, with USDA selecting Indianapolis as one of its new regional hub locations. I will keep working with the administration and my Senate colleagues to advocate for the programs Hoosier farmers rely on to feed Indiana and the world."
"For Hoosier farmers, the clearest wins for this year's crop season will be stronger crop insurance, tax relief, expanded expensing and other risk-management tools," he continued. "The outlook is still narrow, but there is room for improvement if policymakers focus on what farmers need most, especially stronger trade markets and more reliable demand, including in areas like biofuels."
Young said attitude toward economics, stabilizing supply chains and securing trade are key to economic strength and growth in the U.S. and Indiana.
"The first thing we should do is disabuse ourselves of an economic school of thinking that doesn't represent reality," he said.
He said there is a conventional assumption that "markets take care of themselves."
"That's not true of every circumstance," he said. "Ma-
rkets do adjust, but what happens if they don't adjust for a really long period of time?"
Young said a key element to bolstering the U.S. economic strength is discerning which products the nation needs at all times and ensure those products are not at risk.
"It's not enough to have some productive capacity here in the United States, but also we need to establish supply chain redundancies with other countries," he said.
Young warned that making everything in America would cause the nation to be "pretty brittle" in certain circumstances.
"It would be bad economics to make everything in the U.S. It would be highly costly," he said. "But it would also be bad economics to outsource key inputs."
He noted that the way to strengthen that is through international partnerships.
"We need to have a little productive capacity here, and then we need to establish more relationships until there's not a single point of failure when it comes to access to a critical mineral or a semiconductor or a ship," he said.
Young also noted the need for a "skilled labor pool" in the U.S.
"Historically, the U.S. has been a refuge for some of the most talented and hardworking people in the world," he said. "I don't want that to get lost in the middle of the conversation about our labor."
Moving on to the topic of trade, Young said trade is essential to growth.
"We're not going to grow as an economy, and we're certainly not going to realize that growth, without getting more market share," he said.
Young added that securing good trade will pay off national debt and called it a national "responsibility." Geopolitically, he said trade and economic growth ultimately lead to more military investment, which strengthens overall national security.
Also discussed during the fireside chat were housing affordability, healthcare, the gas tax and more.
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