Stephanie Mercier

Stephanie Mercier is the Senior Policy and Advocacy Adviser for the Farm Journal Foundation. From 1997-2011, she served as the Chief Economist for the Democratic staff of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Latest Stories
Response to New York Times op-ed
Farmers scrambling to replace migrant workers
restoring natural habitat to Midwest fields one strip at a time
600 million Africans lack reliable access to electricity
Native Americans seek to regain control over their food systems
In recent decades, water quality has declined so seriously in certain bodies of water that federal courts have ordered local and state jurisdictions to take concrete actions to address the problem.
Farmers continue to improve in this area
On May 23, the House Agriculture Committee passed a 2024 farm bill on a largely party line vote. Due to cuts made to programs valued by Democratic members, prospects for moving to a successful floor vote are unclear.
U.S. farmers, especially in specialty crop and livestock operations, continue to struggle to find enough workers. As of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, 15 percent fewer farms reported using hired labor compared to 2017.