Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act (S.1769, H.R.xxxx)
Partner Action Toolkit
Right now, Congress is deciding on what will make it into the next farm bill. We have an opportunity to center the role of young and beginning BIPOC farmers in shaping a thriving agricultural future and cultivating resilient ecosystems.
Record drought and flooding across the country are threatening agriculture, the environment, and our food supply. Meanwhile, farmers face many barriers to adopting the critical practices that will help them stay viable and build resilience to climate change.
Our priority is securing policies that create a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable farm and food system to address climate change, ensure a reliable food supply, and keep farmers on the land. Getting there depends on you.
Young, beginning, and BIPOC farmers and ranchers have limited support and technical assistance to help them adapt to our changing climate. And farming communities already hold knowledge on farming in a changing climate and producers are eager to learn from others, but they don’t know where to start. Farmer-to-farmer education provides a pathway to navigating challenges and building resilience by helping farmers innovate climate solutions and conserve water.
Farmer-to-farmer learning already happens formally, at soil health field days and trainings, as well as informally at social gatherings, coffeeshops, and along fence lines. American Farmland Trust and the National Young Farmers Coalition have been working with Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02) on a proposal to augment farmer-to-farmer technical assistance.
The Farmer to Farmer Education Act (S.1769), recently introduced in the Senate by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), and soon to be introduced in the House by Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), will help more young, beginning, and BIPOC farmers to adopt on-farm conservation practices that conserve water and build climate resiliency for the next generation by enhancing and expanding existing farmer-to-farmer education.
According to the 2022 National Young Farmer Survey of over 10,000 young farmers across the country, 71% reported being unfamiliar with USDA programs. A recent AFT New England survey found that more than 50% of farmer-respondents were getting their technical assistance and education directly from farmers they know (compared with 20% from NRCS), and over a third identified a consultation with an experienced farmer as one of the most helpful forms of technical assistance.
If enacted, the Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act would add farmer-to-farmer conservation education to the existing Conservation Technical Assistance statute, Section 1242. This would augment existing farmer-led education networks and build capacity for new ones—particularly for historically marginalized communities—through the use of cooperative agreements and existing funding. Funding would support mentoring, networking, and translation/interpretation for conservation education to make technical assistance more effective and accessible.
Your visions and experiences have helped shape this legislation, and now we need your support to make sure farmer-to-farmer education becomes part of the next Farm Bill. This toolkit contains information about the marker bill, sample social media language, and an example press release. With your support, we can activate our networks to join us in calling on our Members of Congress to support this crucial bill.
Need support sharing any of this information on social media? Please reach out to Young Farmers Communications Manager, Lytisha Wyatt, with any questions at lytisha@youngfarmers.org.
How Your Organization Can Engage
Bill Info
Social Media Posts and Graphics
Social Media Graphics: Here is the link to a Google drive folder with graphics. Call to Action: Young Farmers digital action link |
Tag Young Farmers:
Hashtags: #youngfarmers, #farmbill, #conservation, #environmentalstewardship,
Tag the lead sponsors and your Members of Congress:
Instagram posts:
Option 1 | Farmers across the U.S. are dealing with the impacts of #climatechange every day, and many face barriers to adopting #conservation practices that can play a key role in building #climate resilience. As a result, many farmers rely on each other for mentorship and support, learning from each other in formal settings, like soil health field days and trainings, and informally at social gatherings and coffee shops. The American Farmland Trust found that over 50% of farmers they surveyed in New England rely on each other for conservation education. We need policy solutions that support the resources farmers already provide each other. Join @youngfarmers and @americanfarmlandtrust in supporting the Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act, introduced by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02) which would build support for farmer-led conservation education in the next #FarmBill. Tell Congress to support this bill! https://youngfarmers.quorum.us/campaign/farmer-to-farmer/ |
Option 2 | According to a recent survey from the American Farmland Trust, more than half of farmers surveyed said they learned about conservation practices directly from other farmers. Providing farmers the tools to adopt conservation practices is essential in the face of #climatechange. Learning from someone you trust with first-hand experience about the benefits and challenges of adopting these practices can increase the likelihood of farmers trying these practices out. We join @youngfarmers and @americanfarmlandtrust in supporting the Farmer to Farmer Education Act, introduced by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), which would leverage existing technical assistance resources to support farmer-led education networks through the next #FarmBill. Tell Congress to support this bill! https://youngfarmers.quorum.us/campaign/farmer-to-farmer/ |
Option 3 | Barriers like cost, insecure #landaccess, and lack of technical assistance make it challenging for farmers to adopt #conservation practices that can lead to long-term climate resilience. As Congress currently decides on what will make it into the next #FarmBill, the most important piece of legislation shaping the future of food in the US, now is the time to support farmers’ abilities to build #climate resiliency. The Farmer to Farmer Education Act, introduced by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), would provide support to farmer-led education networks that are essential to overcoming many of the challenges farmers face in adopting more sustainable practices. Tell Congress to support this bill! https://youngfarmers.quorum.us/campaign/farmer-to-farmer/ |
Facebook posts:
Option 1 | Farmers across the U.S. are dealing with the impacts of #climatechange every day, and many face barriers to adopting #conservation practices that can play a key role in building #climate resilience. As a result, many farmers rely on each other for mentorship and support, learning from each other in formal settings, like soil health field days and trainings, and informally at social gatherings and coffee shops. The American Farmland Trust found that over 50% of farmers they surveyed in New England rely on each other for conservation education. We need policy solutions that support the resources farmers already provide each other. Join @youngfarmerscoalition and @AmericanFarmland in supporting the Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act, introduced by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), which would build support for farmer-led conservation education in the next #FarmBill. Tell Congress to support this bill! https://youngfarmers.quorum.us/campaign/farmer-to-farmer/ |
Option 2 | According to a recent survey from the American Farmland Trust, more than half of farmers surveyed said they learned about conservation practices directly from other farmers. Providing farmers the tools to adopt conservation practices is essential in the face of #climatechange. Learning from someone you trust with first-hand experience about the benefits and challenges of adopting these practices can increase the likelihood of farmers trying these practices out. We join @youngfarmerscoalition and @AmericanFarmland in supporting the Farmer to Farmer Education Act, introduced by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), which would leverage existing technical assistance resources to support farmer-led education networks through the next #FarmBill. Tell Congress to support this bill! https://youngfarmers.quorum.us/campaign/farmer-to-farmer/ |
Option 3 | Barriers like cost, insecure #landaccess, and lack of technical assistance make it challenging for farmers to adopt #conservation practices that can lead to long-term climate resilience. As Congress currently decides on what will make it into the next #FarmBill, the most important piece of legislation shaping the future of food in the US, now is the time to support farmers’ abilities to build #climate resiliency. The Farmer to Farmer Education Act, introduced by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02) would provide support to farmer-led education networks that are essential to overcoming many of the challenges farmers face in adopting more sustainable practices. Tell Congress to support this bill! https://youngfarmers.quorum.us/campaign/farmer-to-farmer/ |
Twitter posts:
Option 1 | We need policy solutions that support the resources farmers already provide each other. Tell Congress to support the Farmer to Farmer Education Act, which would leverage existing technical assistance resources to support farmer-led ed in the next #FarmBill. |
Option 2 | Providing farmers the tools to adopt #conservation practices is essential in the face of #climatechange. Tell Congress to support the Farmer to Farmer Education Act, which support farmer-led education networks through the next #FarmBill. Take action: https://youngfarmers.quorum.us/campaign/farmer-to-farmer/ |
Option 3 | As Congress currently decides on what will make it into the next #FarmBill, now is the time to support farmers’ abilities to build #climate resiliency. Tell Congress to support the Farmer to Farmer Education Act, which would support farmer-led education. |
Option 4 | As farmers across the U.S. are dealing with the impacts of #climatechange every day, many rely on each other for mentorship. We urge Congress to support the Farmer to Farmer Education Act, which would support farmer-led #conservation ed in the #farmbill. |
Press Release
Feel free to reference the Young Farmers press release as sample language.