Farm Bill
The Farm Bill is our opportunity to shape the health, equity, and long-term economic and environmental sustainability of the U.S. farm and food system. The 2012 Farm Bill will be our fifth farm bill debate and if we have learned anything over the last four farm bill campaigns it is that with coordinated grassroots participation and effective D.C. representation we can make change happen.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is now hard at work on its 2012 Farm Bill platform. NSAC’s policy positions are based on extensive grassroots input from sustainable and organic farmers and ranchers, and from private, non-profit organizations working directly with farmers. NSAC policy is developed through participatory issue committees that involve NSAC member organizations as well as other national and regional sustainable agriculture networks and organizations.
As a framework to guide our work on the 2012 Farm Bill Platform, NSAC members adopted the following statement at the NSAC Summer Meeting in August of 2010:
NSAC will advocate for federal farm policy reforms in the 2012 Farm Bill to achieve a healthier, more just and environmentally sustainable food and farming system. This Farm Bill should advance a broad set of values and objectives that promote:
- natural resource conservation and incentives to farmers for providing environmental and climate change mitigation benefits.
- farming opportunity, fair competition, widespread ownership of land, and support for small and mid-sized farms and beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
- local and regional food system development, production diversification, specialty crop production, public health, and long-term food security.
NSAC has identified twelve reforms for the 2012 Farm Bill that can achieve our collective vision for agriculture. The 2012 Farm Bill should:
➢ Include a robust and well funded Conservation Title to support working lands conservation programs, conservation easement and farmland preservation programs, sustainable agriculture, and organic transition assistance.
➢ Re-align a portion of current production subsidies to programs that reward farmers and ranchers for the multiple and ongoing environmental and climate benefits delivered by their farming systems and practices.
➢ Strengthen conservation compliance measures to ensure federal farm program and crop insurance recipients are achieving basic soil and water resource protection.
➢ Create climate-friendly program options that fully recognize the inherent value of sustainable and organic farming systems in addressing climate change.
➢ Increase research and extension efforts to foster organic and sustainable agriculture systems, economic viability for small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers, public breeding initiatives for regionally adapted cultivars, and sustainable economic and community development.
➢ Facilitate rural entrepreneurship and strong, streamlined rural economic and community development initiatives.
➢ Reinvigorate local and regional agricultural economies and food systems to improve processing and distribution channels that create new market opportunities for small and mid-sized farms and healthier food choices for consumers.
➢ Ensure fair and competitive agricultural markets which are viable over the long-term.
➢ Support the entry and development of beginning farmers and ranchers through significant investment in innovative programs that facilitate access to land, credit, technical assistance and, and markets.
➢ Support socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers including women, minorities and farmworkers and the organizations that serve them; identify barriers to their participation in USDA programs and remove them.
➢ Maintain and strengthen farm credit options and access and availability of innovative farm financing.
➢ Create workable crop and whole farm revenue insurance options for diversified farming operations, value-added agriculture, direct marketing operations, organic agriculture, and new and beginning farmer.