Growing up on a cattle farm in Yell County, Arkansas, alongside many other generational farmers, I learned early on how price swings and economic uncertainty could affect a family business.  

Unfortunately, thanks to former President Joe Biden’s disastrous economic policies, farmers across America are faced with rising input costs, low commodity prices and high borrowing costs. There’s no doubt that it’s been a tough time for America’s farmers and ranchers, which is why I’m working to get them the assistance they need.  

Earlier this year, I was proud to support the major farm bill reforms led by my fellow Arkansan and Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Republican Sen. John Boozman; this legislation was part of our Working Families Tax Cut. Unlike previous farm bills, which didn’t have nearly enough "farm" in them, the Working Families Tax Cut contained provisions to directly assist farmers and free up additional funding by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.  

Yet, these measures won’t kick in until 2026. Furthermore, many farmers have already booked this year’s crop, meaning they won’t benefit from any recent increases in commodity pricing.

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Here’s the bottom line: America’s farmers need help — now.  

In my home state of Arkansas, for instance, our farmers are set to lose hundreds of dollars per acre on their soybean, corn, cotton and long-grain rice crops this year alone. The situation has gotten so bad that Arkansas cash crop receipts are now projected to fall by $617 million in 2025. 

Adding to these challenges for Arkansas farmers, the contrast between the steep cost of inputs (such as seed, fertilizer and diesel) and the commodity prices that farmers receive for their crops is at its highest level in 25 years. Put differently, input costs are too high and revenues are too low for many farmers to turn a profit, or at the very least, keep their businesses afloat. Unfortunately, the costs have caught up with too many Arkansas farmers; in the last year, among all southern region Chapter 12 bankruptcies (a classification specific to family farms and fishermen), one in four were filed in Arkansas.

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America’s farmers also play a critical role in our consumer economy, which is essential to the security of our homeland. After all, food security is national security. Our adversaries would love nothing more than to see generations of farmers wiped out by economic hardship.  

In recent months, soybean farmers have been unfairly targeted by communist China. This is particularly difficult for Arkansans, given that soybeans are grown in 41 of Arkansas’ 75 counties on thousands of farms across some 3.3 million acres in our state. While I welcome the announcement that communist China intends to purchase 12 million metric tons of soybeans this year — and 25 million metric tons every year for the next three years — we ought to keep in mind President Ronald Reagan’s old Cold War approach: trust, but verify.

I have spoken with President Donald Trump directly about the difficulties and hardships that farmers and ranchers in Arkansas and across America are facing. Without a doubt, Trump keeps them at the top of his mind and close to his heart. Now that the Schumer Shutdown has finally come to an end, we can get back to work providing relief to our farmers that will bridge the gap between now and when the Working Families Tax Cut provisions kick in next year.  

Our farmers and ranchers must have the necessary assistance and support to get through to the next season. But just as importantly, they must be able to continue growing, harvesting and operating for generations to come. 

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A nationwide air traffic controller shortage has put new attention on a growing training option the FAA now approves for certain colleges. Middle Georgia State University is one of the few schools offering the Enhanced AT-CTI pathway, which gives students another route into air traffic control careers as the FAA works to rebuild its workforce.

The recent federal government shutdown highlighted how thin staffing has become, especially as delays and reroutes stacked up across the country. The FAA says it wants to hire at least 8,900 new controllers by 2028. According to FAA workforce data analyzed by USAFacts, about 3,000 controller positions were vacant nationwide as of late 2024 — though not every facility is equally understaffed.

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That shortage is driving interest in a newer FAA-approved college pathway designed to streamline controller training at a small group of universities — including Middle Georgia State. The Enhanced AT-CTI program allows students to train to the same standard as the FAA Academy, and if hired and meeting FAA requirements such as passing the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA), medical and security clearances, they can go directly to a facility instead of completing the full academy in Oklahoma City, which can involve long waitlists and multi-month courses.

Graduates still undergo facility-specific training and must be certified on-the-job before becoming full controllers.

Only about nine schools nationwide have been approved to offer the new Enhanced AT-CTI program as of 2025, according to Kemarie Jeffers, the department chair of aviation science and management at Middle Georgia State.

Inside Middle Georgia State’s tower simulator, air traffic control student Brooke Graffagnino says the job’s intensity is what drew her in. "It kind of gets your chest beating, because with how much traffic there is, sometimes it is intense," she said.

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She says students quickly find out whether they’re suited for the job. "You can kind of tell who does not [love it]. There have been quite a few, and they are no longer here. It takes a lot to get through it," she said.

Graffagnino says the importance of the work became clearer as she learned how controllers keep busy airspace organized. "Once you get in the airspace that is super crowded or approaching the larger airports like Atlanta, you need someone to help coordinate and keep everything separate and safe," she said.

Middle Georgia State was approved as an Enhanced AT-CTI school in mid-2024. Jeffers says the impact was immediate. "Before our program had maybe about 17 to 20 students. Right now we have 54. So we have already, in that short amount of time, almost tripled in size the amount of students that we have," he said.

To earn the enhanced designation, Jeffers said the school had to update its curriculum, overhaul parts of its simulator setup, and install new audio and video systems. "We’ve upgraded a lot of our equipment… we had to install audio and video equipment upstairs in our tower sim," he said. Those upgrades allow the FAA to remotely review or spot-check training sessions and ensure they meet federal standards.

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The program’s biggest distinction is what happens after graduation. "Enhanced CTI eliminates your requirement of going to the academy. You will graduate here and you can go straight to work," Jeffers said. "So it saves you time and effort — again, it gets you to work sooner and making money quicker."

The FAA requires enhanced programs to employ instructors with controller experience and maintain simulator equipment comparable to FAA standards.

As students advance, the simulations become more complex, requiring trainees to manage more aircraft at once. "As we get more comfortable and confident, we are able to allow more aircraft into the airspace at a time," Graffagnino said.

Before finishing the program, every student must pass a final simulation that mirrors the FAA Academy’s evaluation process. "Our instructors will then run a scenario and they will be graded… the exact same way in which they will be graded at the academy," Jeffers said.

According to the FAA’s FY 2025 Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan, the agency anticipates about 2,000 hires in FY 2025, 2,200 in FY 2026, and incremental increases through 2028, though retirements are expected to offset much of that growth.