Gillibrand Announces Priorities For Next Farm Bill
September 20, 2011
Washington, D.C. – As Congress prepares to write and debate the next Farm Bill, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, New York’s first member of the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly 40 years, today announced her priorities to make sure the next Farm Bill is a good deal for New York. Senator Gillibrand spent time over the last year visiting farm communities across the state, holding listening sessions to gather input from New York’s own local farms on their needs from the broad and sweeping agriculture legislation.
“New York is home to America’s hardest working farmers and the world’s finest locally-grown produce,” Senator Gillibrand said. “But for too long, our farmers have been held back by an outdated and unfair pricing system, and other obstacles to grow their businesses. We need our farmers to thrive if we’re going to have a strong and growing economy in New York. I’ve met with and heard from local farmers in every corner of our state, and now I’m fighting for these proposals in the next Farm Bill to make sure it’s a good deal for our farmers.”
Over 35,000 farms stretch across 7.1 million acres of New York State – comprising one-fourth of New York State. The state’s agriculture industry generates approximately $4.5 billion for the state’s economy each year.
GILLIBRAND PRIORITIES FOR FARM BILL
Dairy Reform
Dairy Pricing
Farmers have been paid for their milk through a complicated, regionally-based system called the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO). This system was initially developed to price milk based on demand, but because price triggers were not transparent to the average producer, and prices were announced on a month delay, this made farmers unable to respond to the market and extreme volatility in both production and income to farmers.
Senator Gillibrand is working to include in the Farm Bill theDairy Pricing Reform and Farmer Protection Act, legislation she is writing that would reform the FMMO system to improve transparency and price discovery. Senator Gillibrand has outlined the types of reforms necessary to simplify and improve the pricing structure, and has instructed the USDA to evaluate these reforms through the regulatory hearing process. Pricing alternatives, such as a competitive pay pricing system, would more directly tie pricing to demand, reduce the manipulation of markets and inherent volatility in the current end-product pricing system. Senator Gillibrand’s proposal also directs the USDA to evaluate the merits of moving from the current four-class system for characterizing dairy products to a two-class system, of fluid milk and manufacturing milk. Lastly, Senator Gillibrand’s proposal directs the USDA to develop more transparent price discovery methodology.
Dairy Safety Net
Dairy farmers have long relied on the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program to help make ends meet when prices are low. Senator Gillibrand is working to combine the benefits of MILC with the structure of a margin based insurance policy to provide dairy farmers with a safety net when the cost of feed is high and market prices are low. Her proposal would especially benefit small and medium-sized farms by ensuring payments for 90 percent of production when the margin between feed and market prices is less than $6, up to the current MILC production limit. It will also help larger farms by ensuring they also receive payment when the margin is less than $4.
Market Stabilization
Senator Gillibrand is concerned about a market stabilization program that allows large producers to opt out. Therefore, her proposal includes a fair stabilization program - applied evenly to all milk producers - that would reduce overproduction in areas with low demand. This would allow New York farmers to continue to grow in response to market demand for their product and would require larger farms in regions without a large population to curtail production if there is no market for milk.
Supporting Specialty Crops
Specialty Crops generate nearly $1.4 billion for New York’s economy each year, making up one-third of New York’s agriculture industry. New York ranks in the top three nationally for production and value of apples, cabbage and grapes. Last year, New York produced 40 million tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, valued at more than $730 million.
To continue supporting New York’s specialty crop farmers, Senator Gillibrand is fighting to protect Specialty Crop Block Grants that help ensure long-term viability of specialty crops, which include fruits, vegetables, maple, honey and horticulture products.
The current Farm Bill provides $55 million each year in grants that support research, grower education, consumer outreach and market development. New York receives over $1 million each year in this funding.
Connecting Fresh Produce with New Markets – Combating Food Deserts
More than 20 million people live in areas known as “food deserts,” areas that are out of reach of a supermarket, particularly common in communities of color, low income communities, and rural areas. This is a major barrier for families to reach fresh, nutritious food they need to lead healthy lives, and blocks the economic benefits of local supermarkets, such as jobs and associated retail.
Senator Gillibrand is fighting for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative to help bring more grocery stores, farmers markets, food cooperatives and other options within reach by providing one time start-up grants and affordable loan financing.
The legislation sets requirements for the types of projects that are eligible for funding. Minority and women-owned businesses would be given priority in funding, along with projects that would provide wages and benefits equal or better than that of comparable businesses in the same area, and include local hiring agreements.
The legislation also has the ability to create and save hundreds and thousands of jobs. An analysis by The Reinvestment Fund (TRF), a Community Development Financial Institution in Pennsylvania, estimates that a $1 billion public-private initiative could create over 1,000 grocery store projects in underserved communities across the nation; provide access to healthy food for over 15 million people; and create almost 45,000 direct, long-term, full-time equivalent jobs and nearly 50,000 new construction jobs.
Additionally, Senator Gillibrand is working to fix the process for locating and mapping food deserts. Senator Gillibrand has been in contact with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack and Deputy Undersecretary Anne Wright, calling their attention to errors with the USDA’s food desert mapping tools, which failed to capture a large portion of New York’s food deserts, including in Harlem, the Bronx, Central Brooklyn and sections of Queens.
As another effort to help connect farms with markets in need of fresh produce, Senator Gillibrand is working to improve the infrastructure that connects them. New York City is home to Hunt’s Point Terminal Produce Market, the largest produce distribution center in America, serving 22 million people and selling $2 billion worth of produce from around the world each year. But the surrounding infrastructure to reach the facility is outdated and in need of repair. This prevents farms in upstate New York, and across America, from harnessing the full potential of New York City to reach new markets and help their businesses thrive.
Currently, the USDA is limited in the support it can provide for these projects. Senator Gillibrand is working to enhance regional food system infrastructure funding to strengthen available resources that support projects that connect farm communities to new markets.
Increasing Access to Farmers Markets
Current participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are unable to use these benefits at farmers markets because farmers markets typically lack the wired Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) terminals that process SNAP funds. This adds another barrier to fresh, nutritious produce for families in need, and farmers lose out on this business at their markets.
Senator Gillibrand is pushing to change this by providing farmers markets and other non-traditional retailers with wireless, mobile technology that can enable EBT terminals and process SNAP payments.
New York is home to roughly 520 farmers markets, second only to California. More than 2.5 million New Yorkers received SNAP benefits in 2010. Connecting SNAP recipients with farmers markets can help these individuals lead healthier lives with better access to fresh produce, and help support this business for our state’s farmers.
Strengthening Conservation
Environmental conservation is critical to helping farms guard against soil erosion, enhance water supplies and improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat and reduce damage caused by floods and other natural disasters. These protections help keep farms in business, while also protecting New York’s vast natural beauty.
Senator Gillibrand is working to protect the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) that helps provide farmers with the resources they need to plan and implement conservation efforts. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland, pastures, non-industrial and private forestland.
In 2010, New York received more than $16.6 million in EQIP funds to support Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative, the Great Lake Restoration Initiative, and other efforts.
Additionally, Senator Gillibrand will also work to support the Conservation on Muck Soils (COMS) program. Muck soils are highly organic and valuable for their natural ability to produce high yields, and require significantly less commercial fertilizers than crops grown on other soil types. Muck soils are found in limited locations across the country, including New York.
The COMS program provides up to $500 per acre for muck soil farmers who implement specific soil conservation practices that can significantly reduce wind and water erosion, and protect this rare and valuable soil.
Bolstering Community Supported Agriculture
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a renowned and proven system that directly connects consumers with the farmers who grow their food. At the beginning of each growing season, members of CSA pay for a share of a farm’s produce. Throughout the season, members receive a weekly box containing their share of the farm’s yield for that week. There are more than 12,000 CSA farms currently operating throughout the United States and approximately 350 in New York alone. Both numbers are expected to rise steadily in the coming years.
Increasing Access to Credit
Like all small businesses, family farms are struggling to secure the financing they need to grow or, in many cases, survive in this difficult economy. Senator Gillibrand is introducing theAgricultural Credit Expansion Act to increase access to credit, and make lending more flexible for farms.The legislation would streamline and modernize the Farm Services Agency (FSA) loan program to keep pace with the business practices of family farms, and cutting the red tape that currently stands between family farms and the financing they need to thrive.
Ending Term Limits for FSA Support
The 1996 Farm Bill included limits to the number of years a producer can receive assistance through the FSA Loan Programs. Borrowers in the direct loan program are limited to 7 years of assistance, and 15 years of assistance in the guaranteed loan program.Still reeling from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, family farms need our full support, and shouldn’t be held back by arbitrary limits. Over the next 3 years, 3,500 farmers and ranchers are projected to reach the limit of their FSA loans.
Senator Gillibrand is working to end these term limits for all FSA loans, an effort that would bring immediate relief to more than 4,000 farmers and ranchers.