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FARM BILL FROM A PROGRESSIVE PERSPECTIVE

  • Crop insurance, commodity programs, and credit

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AGENDA

  • Why “Progressive”?
  • Farm Bill 101
  • Policy Priorities
    • Crop insurance access
    • Credit access
    • Farmland consolidation
    • Farmland access
  • How to Take Action

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WHAT IS A ‘PROGRESSIVE’ PERSPECTIVE?

  • Challenges small to mid-sized, organic, diversified, and beginning farmers face to access…
    • Land
    • Loans
    • Markets
    • Insurance
    • Technical Assistance
  • Conventional farming challenges
    • Production subsidies
    • Exports
    • Labor

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FARM BILL

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HISTORICAL CONTEXT

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WHAT IS THE FARM BILL?

  • Reauthorized every 5 to 7 years
  • Shapes what we eat, what farmers grow, who can access land and capital, and the health of our natural resources
  • Contains policies, programs, and funding
  • Reflects deep-seated structural inequities – and presents an opportunity to drive change

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FARM BILL TITLES

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FARM BILL SPENDING

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WHERE ARE

WE NOW?

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PATH TO A NEW FARM BILL

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WE’RE

STILL

HERE

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WHERE WE’RE AT

  • Farm bill extended to September 30, 2024
  • Much of the bill is drafted but remains under construction amidst internal negotiations
  • Bipartisanship is a must – but threatened
  • Key fault line: Raising commodity subsidies at the expense of SNAP or Inflation Reduction Act investments in climate and agriculture

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KEY PLAYERS

  • Senate Agriculture Committee
    • Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
    • Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR)
    • NOFA region Senators: Booker (D-NJ), Gillibrand (D-NY), and Welch (D-VT)
  • House Agriculture Committee
    • House Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA-15)
    • House Ranking Member David Scott (D-GA-13)
    • NOFA region Representatives: Hayes (D-CT-05), Langworthy (R-NY-23), McGovern (D-MA-02), Molinaro (R-NY-19), and Pingree (D-ME-01)

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POLICY REFORMS

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FARM SAFETY NET REFORM

  • Expanding access to coverage
    • Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) Program Improvement Act
      • Rep. Hayes bill development to include reforms to Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program
    • Insuring Fairness for Family Farmers Act
    • WEATHER Act
  • Structural reform
    • Assisting Family Farmers Through Insurance Reform Measures (AFFIRM) Act
    • Farm Program Integrity Act

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FAIR CREDIT FOR FARMERS ACT

Makes access to credit from FSA more fair by…

  • Expanding access by restoring eligibility after debt forgiveness, removing 7-year graduation requirement
  • Reducing risk by addressing overcollateralization
  • Making the lending process more transparent and fair by reforming the appeals process
  • Providing some time-limited, targeted economic relief for farmers

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Farmland for Farmers Act (S.2583)

Why?

  • Ageing farmer populations, renew interest of young generation for farming
  • Increase price of farmland because speculation
  • Growing foreign farmland ownership ( 30% Canadian 1% Chinese)
  • Main landowners are not foreigners but corporations
  • Corporations does not disclose nationality of owners

Presentation title

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Farmland for Farmers Act (S.2583)

How?

  • Curb Speculative Investment: corporations, private equity firms, pensions, and investment fund will be prevented from purchasing or renting new farmland ifor speculative investment.
  • Targeted approach: corporations with up to 25 who actively engage in farming are except (ej. cooperatives, universities, land trust operations)
  • Transparency and fair allocation of programs: multi-level investment will be prevented from owning or benefiting from federal agricultural programs.

Presentation title

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LASO

  • Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities Act (LASO)
    • Led by Reps. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Zach Nunn (R-IA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) & Senator Tina Smith (D-MN).
      • Rep. Hayes also a cosponsor
    • Formalizes the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program (LCM), launched by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in August 2022

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ORGANIC POLICY

  • Agriculture Resilience Act
    • Rep. Pingree (D-ME)
  • Strengthening Organic Agriculture Research Act (SOAR) + Organic Science Research and Investment Act (OSRI)
    • Rep. Newhouse (R-WA) and Sen. Fetterman (D-PA)
  • Opportunities in Organic Act
    • Rep. Panetta (D-CA) and Sen. Welch (D-VT)
  • Seeds and Breeds for the Future
    • Sen. Baldwin (D-WI)

Not a full list!

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QUESTIONS?

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WHAT CAN

YOU DO?

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ACTIONS

  • LEARN about your Senators and Representative
    • Find out who represents you: www.govtrack.us
  • EDUCATE your Senators and Representative about food and agriculture issues
    • Introduce yourself to your MOC’s field staff
    • Invite staff to see your farm, tell them about a program that helped you, attend Town Halls and other events
  • ASK your Senators and Republicans to stand up and support policy issues that matter
    • Stay in touch with grassroots groups who can keep you in the loop

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IDEAS

  • How can YOU be an advocate for yourself and your neighbors?
    • Regularly call your Representative and Senators
    • Attend Town Halls and listening sessions
    • Organize “phonebanking” with your neighbors
    • Build advocacy training into beginning farmer education
    • Collaborate with local and regional policy groups

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QUESTIONS?

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STAY IN TOUCH

Billy Hackett, Policy Specialist

bhackett@sustainableagriculture.net

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Nick Rossi, Policy Specialist

nrossi@sustainableagriculture.net

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Antonio Tovar, Senior Policy Associate

antonio@nffc.net

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