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Dairy farmers need Congress to pass a new Farm Bill now to help provide certainty for making future business decisions, according to Sarah Leonard (left), a fourth-generation dairy producer from Midland, VA, who spoke at a Senate news conference last month about the 2012 Farm Bill.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), the Committee’s Ranking Member, hosted the news conference in the U.S. Capitol. They were joined by several young farmers to discuss the importance of the farm bill for the next generation of ag producers. Leonard, who operates a 325-cow dairy along with her parents, spoke about her experiences as a young farmer on a multi-generational farm.

“On our farm, we don’t focus on the latest polls, or whose campaign is raising the most money,” she explained. “We focus instead on how much rain we received last night, how much milk the cows are generating today, and what the market prices of corn and soybeans are. That’s our daily reality. But part of that reality is, we need a new farm bill.”

Leonard said she was excited to see that the Farm Bill legislation contained a variety of provisions to help beginning farmers like her continue to make a living from family farms, including access to capital, crop insurance, and mentoring programs.

“I can rely on my parents for their wisdom and perspective, but it would be great to know that the farm bill also has tools that I can use to keep our family business going. I would like to sell milk, not sell our land to developers,” she said.