Wis Dems: ICYMI: records reveal Rep. Van Orden skipped 10 key agriculture hearings as farm bankruptcies surge

MADISON, Wis. — New reporting from Heartland Signal reveals that Rep. Derrick Van Orden has skipped nearly half of the Agricultural Committee hearings since 2024, even though he was in Washington during the times several of those meetings took place. While Derrick Van Orden gallivants around D.C., Wisconsin farmers continue to struggle under GOP policies. The report also highlights that Van Orden has directed his support toward cost-raising policies for farmers such as tariffs and the Trump administration’s war in Iran, and the hearings Van Orden skipped directly touched on the economic pressures driving local farms out of business.

Heartland Signal: Records reveal Rep. Van Orden skipped 10 key Agriculture hearings as farm bankruptcies surge
By: Richard Eberwein | 6/16/26

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) has frequently told his constituents that supporting the agricultural industry is one of his highest priorities, even going so far as to call agriculture his “true love.” But an investigation into House Committee on Agriculture attendance records reveals he’s missed several committee events since 2024, showing a disconnect between the congressman’s devotion to the farming industry and his actual performance in Washington.

Since March 2024, Van Orden has failed to show up for at least 10 of the 22 separate Agriculture Committee and subcommittee hearings he was expected to attend during that time. Congressional voting records and committee videos show that in several instances, Van Orden was physically present in Washington, D.C. on the day of the hearings — he just didn’t attend them.

The congressman’s ongoing absences come at a catastrophic time for Wisconsin agricultural producers. According to data previously reported by Heartland Signal, Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies in the state skyrocketed from just two filings in 2024 to 16 in 2025 — a 700% increase as farm operations succumb to tightening margins. Chapter 12 is a specialized bankruptcy reserved for family farmers.

Van Orden, who represents Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, has repeatedly boasted about his committee assignment, noting he is the first member from the Badger State to serve on the panel in more than a decade.

Yet, the hearings Van Orden skipped directly touched on the economic pressures driving local farms out of business:

• “Financial Conditions in Farm Country” (July 23, 2024): Van Orden skipped a morning hearing detailing the collapse of the farm safety net. While he bypassed the 10 a.m. agriculture meeting, C-SPAN footage shows he attended a Transportation subcommittee hearing in Washington later that afternoon at 2 p.m.
• “The Economic Crisis in Farm Country” (Feb. 11, 2025): Van Orden skipped a full committee hearing called to address falling commodity prices and soaring input costs. During the hearing, Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) warned that farm families were facing the bleakest five-year financial outlook in more than four decades. Roll call records show Van Orden was in Washington that day to cast other House floor votes.
• “The State of the Livestock Industry” (March 4, 2025): Van Orden missed a subcommittee hearing where agricultural leaders testified about massive financial losses in the pork industry and an avian flu epidemic causing a national egg supply crisis. While he did not cast floor votes that day, FEC records show he billed his campaign $297.68 for travel expenses and he voted in Washington the following morning.
• “The Specialty Crop Industry” (Sept. 16, 2025): Van Orden was a no-show for a hearing examining specialty crops, which include cranberries. Wisconsin is the largest producer of cranberries in the U.S. Voting records again place Van Orden in D.C. during the hearing.

Heartland Signal’s analysis also found that Van Orden missed Agriculture Committee hearings on the following dates:

• March 6, 2024 – “Testimony from Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam”
• Sept. 11, 2024 – “Severe Food Distribution Shortages in Tribal and Elderly Communities”
• March 25, 2025 – “Examining the Past and Future of Commodity Markets”Dec. 11, 2025 – “CFTC Reauthorization: Stakeholder Perspectives”
• April 16, 2026 – “Testimony from Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael S. Selig”
• June 10, 2026 – “Agricultural Perspectives on the Future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)”

[…] 

While Van Orden periodically has been absent from the committee room where farm relief is crafted, he has supported policies that economic experts say is actively making the farm industry’s financial crisis worse.

Despite broad opposition from economists, Van Orden has been a defender of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policies.

“Our farmers understand that we have to level the playing field. And how do you do that? You do that with these tariffs,” Van Orden told NOTUS in February. “In order to get to the long term, you have to get through the short term, and that’s the reason that this money’s going back to people in the agriculture industry.”

Earlier that month, a bipartisan group of agricultural economists sent a letter to the leaders in the House and Senate Agriculture Committees warning that the administration’s tariff policies are significantly damaging America’s farm economy.

“By placing tariffs on farm inputs — from fertilizer, to farm chemicals, to machinery parts– the Administration’s tariffs have increased prices for farm inputs and have pushed the cost of production well above commodity prices,” the letter says. “While we applaud the recent decision to exempt fertilizer imports from tariffs, we question why the government was ever placing tariffs on fertilizer and ask why the Administration has not moved to remove tariffs on all farm inputs. It makes no sense to drive up farm input costs, taking money out of the pockets of America’s farmers.”

While the administration reduced tariffs on imported agricultural equipment from 25% to 15% earlier this month, the prices of fuel and fertilizer have increased due to Trump’s military conflict in Iran. Van Orden has also continuously supported Trump’s war, and he voted against Concurrent Resolution 86, a bill that would force the removal of U.S. troops from the conflict. Van Orden’s office did not address his support for tariffs or his vote on CR 86 in the statement to Heartland Signal.