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Family Farm Action Alliance has developed a comprehensive toolkit for the 117th Congress to tackle the dangerous levels of consolidation in today’s food system. Our policy recommendations are based on conclusions from the pivotal report, “The Food System: Concentration and Its Impacts,” authored by leading food system experts Dr. Mary Hendrickson, Dr. Phil Howard, Emily […]

Marion Nestle of Food Politics poses the question: how much money is going into agricultural supports? Beyond huge subsidies already provided by the Farm Bill, Nestle writes: "The USDA has given producers more than $10 billion in Coronavirus assistance. This includes nearly $1 billion to Iowa farmers. Lesser amounts went to producers in Nebraska, California, […]

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition recently published this helpful article, WAYS TO IMPROVE LAND-LINKING THROUGH THE TRANSITION INCENTIVES PROGRAM. This program works to "encourage landowners to transition CRP farmland to beginning, socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers. Millions of acres are set to expire from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) over the coming years, creating a […]

Exciting news, folks, from the National Young Farmers Coalition: last week, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) introduced the Student Loan Forgiveness for Farmers and Ranchers Act (S.2168). The July 18 press release from NYFC can be found here. In the House, HR 3232 would add farmers to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. In the […]

The USDA recently made their final decision on GIPSA - to pull the pending Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rules designed to level the playing field for poultry and livestock producers. These rules have been languishing since the 2008 farm bill, and today’s action firmly places this administration on the side of large […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bGiCRNkjpk?ecver=2] We are so proud of Lindsey Luscher Shute after her outstanding performance before the senate committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. She did a fantastic job of representing the struggles facing young farmers, from land access and affordability, student loan debt, health care affordability to the bias against women and people of color […]

As the next Farm Bill approaches, the House Agriculture Committee members are beginning to gather input from farmers, ranchers and other stakeholders. As you may know, several current programmes that contribute to the success of organic agriculture are under threat of elimination as so it is imperative that policy makers hear directly from organic farmers, […]

From the Center for Rural Affairs Federal crop insurance is the major farm safety net program. It is also the costliest program outside the nutrition title of the federal Farm Bill. Unlike most other Farm Bill programs, there are no limits on crop insurance subsidies and only minimal conservation requirements. This makes the program ripe […]

10 Reasons to Oppose ‘Right to Farm’ Amendments  I grew up on a dairy farm and currently live in a small town in a farming area. I have spent my 50-year professional career working in agriculture, mostly with farmers and people in rural communities. I think farmers have the same “right to farm” as other […]

In today's press release, the USDA has announced new figures that show the organic industry continues to grow domestically and internationally. Certified organic farms and businesses in the United States have witnessed a 245% increase since 2002 while consumer demand continues to increase exponentially. To help producers further access these markets, the 2014 farm bill […]

  Part IV begins next week.  Our policy workshop webinar series investigates four broad themes in food and agriculture policy. Part I explores linkages between theory and practice in food justice; Part II, a legal framework for the new food movement; Part III part examines GMOs and intellectual property; and Part IV, the farm bill […]

Farm Bill Reflects Shifting American Menu and a Senator’s Persistent Tilling By Jennifer Steinhauer, MARCH 8, 2014 WASHINGTON — The farm bill signed by President Obama last month was at first glance the usual boon for soybean growers, catfish farmers and their ilk. But closer examination reveals that the nation’s agriculture policy is increasingly more whole grain […]

Here is a new venue for discussing policies and programs that do not exist within the current farm bill -- or even the farm bill debate. As an organizer I deeply appreciate this new forum for visioning and proto-wonkery. - Severine http://beyondthefarmbill.org/profile/severine-von-tscharner-fleming  

via The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.  And visit Beyond the Farm Bill.org Register for the National Network meeting and help build food and ag policies that work. March 24–25, 2014 The Marquette Hotel, Minneapolis www.btfb.org Next month, innovative experts and organizations will come together for a two day, collaborative meeting to build the […]

If you have a tough time wrapping your head around Farm Bill legislation, check this out for a quick summary of what just got signed into law. http://www.youngfarmers.org/2014-farm-bill-passes-final-hurdle-signed-into-law/

Farm Bill out of touch with Rural Americans by The Center for Rural Affairs, 26 July 2013 The US House of Representatives’ farm bill is out of touch with rural America in its disregard for protecting the small town and rural way of life. If and when a conference committee meets to produce a final […]

Our Coming Food Crisis By Gary Paul Nabhan Published: July 21, 2013 in the New York Times TUCSON, Ariz. — THIS summer the tiny town of Furnace Creek, Calif., may once again grace the nation’s front pages. Situated in Death Valley, it last made news in 1913, when it set the record for the world’s […]

Via the National Wildlife Federation. At close to midnight last night, the House Agriculture Committee voted 36-10 to approve the farm bill. Unfortunately, the bill they passed out of committee lacked key conservation provisions that are priorities of National Wildlife Federation. Unlike the Senate version of the farm bill, this House version does not tie […]

YOUNG FARMERS WIN IN PROPOSED FARM BILL EXTENSION Key farmer training, cost share and farm business support programs would be extended for one year in House proposal TIVOLI, NY -- The National Young Farmer’s Coalition (NYFC) supports the extension to the 2008 Farm Bill, as filed by the House of Representatives on Saturday.  This last […]

Setting fires and spraying thousands of gallons of milk to protest unsustainable milk prices. Prices which are lower than the cost of production. Europe Milk Quota Protest: Police Sprayed With Thousands Of Litres Of Fresh Milk   Here in The United States, we cannot even pass the Farm Bill

NFU and Coalition Urges Congress To Pass New Farm Bill This Year WASHINGTON (Nov. 13, 2012) – National Farmers Union (NFU) and a wide-sweeping coalition of 235 agriculture organizations sent a letter to Congressional leadership today urging for the passage of a new five-year farm bill to be signed into law by the end of […]

Today, the full U.S. Senate is debating the 2012 Farm Bill. Organic farmers need you to call your Senators TODAY. It's an easy call. Let's make sure our families receive healthy food for many years to come. PROTECT ORGANIC FARMERS IN THE 2012 FARM BILL-- CALL YOUR SENATORS NOW. Please call both of your Senators: […]

From TakePart: We've already pointed out how the Farm Bill currently being debated in Congress is going to have a massive impact on everything that goes on your grocery shelves and dinner plate. But do you know the hidden costs obscured by the bill's monster $500 billion price tag? And that between 2008 and 2010 […]

What's stopping you? The current draft is up for debate today. Here are some resources: http://farmbillprimer.org/maps/ http://www.farmbillfacts.org/ http://sustainableagriculture.net/category/2012-farm-bill/ http://agriculture.house.gov/farmbill_feedback.html Call the senators at the Capitol at (202)224-3121 Senate Ag Committee Members. Check here for a complete congressional listing including phone numbers.

U.S. Senate Ag Committee on Fast Track with Farm Bill:Support for New Farmer Training & Assistance In Peril The U.S. Senate version of the 2012 Farm Bill will be introduced by Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow in the next few days, and immediately following its introduction it will be marked up and voted on by the Senate […]

With the Super Committee Failure, Advocates Look Toward the Farm Bill Yesterday, the chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction announced that the panel was unable to reach an agreement on a deficit reduction plan to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over 10 years. In the past few weeks, both the Democrats and […]

Greenhorns, weigh in! Online forum a chance for young people to sound off on Farm Bill Here’s a special opportunity for young people to speak out on the 2012 Farm Bill. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has initiated “The Secretary’s Challenge,” an online forum geared toward Future Farmers of America (FFA) members and other […]

In two ways.  First, from the Organic Farming Research Foundation: Please sign our online petition to demand that Congress supports organic agriculture in the 2012 Farm Bill. The Congressional Agriculture Committees will be proposing a 2012 Farm Bill by November 1st! Please sign this petition addressed to the Senate and House Ag Committee Chairs and […]

View the press release HERE First New Yorker To Serve On Senate Agriculture Committee In Nearly 40 Years – Held Listening Sessions With Local Farmers Across NYS 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 […]

A Facebook page wants to help. Understanding the Farm Bill The support for local farmers, fresh and healthy food, gardening, and farmers markets has reached new levels of enthusiasm. That enthusiasm for a new food system, however, has yet to be translated into new food policy. All of us have seen the impacts of bad […]

Keith Good of FarmPolicy, Inc. Tune in and turn on your farmbill mojo. Farm Bill; Ag Economy; Trade; and Animal Agriculture Posted By Keith Good On May 27, 2011 Farm Bill: Senate Ag Committee Hearing Sara Wyant reported yesterday at Agri-Pulse Online that, “Citing the need to focus on ‘principles, not programs,’ Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich, […]

Senator Stabenow’s Statement on Becoming Next Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee WASHINGTON— U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) today made the following statement on becoming the next Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

For those of you who have been following the farm bill for months, or if you've just noticed how contentious and complicated it is, here is a good list (see policy platform below) of the programs developed that have direct bearing on our capacity as a nation to feed ourselves proper, healthy food.  When you […]

We urge those of you who haven't yet called your representatives about the farm bill to take a look at the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition website and call the numbers on the site--we need to seal up the dealio with 15 million for beginning farmer funding (see this action alert to get started). Maybe, or maybe we […]