When I talk about Agriculture, I talk a lot about the Farm Bill which is a massive piece of legislation covering everything from crop insurance and farm subsidies to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and conservation programs, was authorized for five years back in 2018. The law was due to be reauthorized by Congress in 2023, but when the deadline was missed, lawmakers passed a temporary extension to keep the crucial programs running. However, this fix creates rea hardship because it continues to fund all the programs at their 2018 cost levels. Since the costs for goods is much higher than in 2018, the current funding does not go nearly as far. This squeeze makes it much harder for both farmers, who face higher production costs, and SNAP recipients, whose benefits now purchase significantly less food.
When I say I want to pass the Farm Bill, what specifically do I want to see happen? A lot!
The four largest by far are: Nutrition, Crop Insurance, Commodities, and Conservation so let’s start there.
This is basically the SNAP (Supplemenatl Nutrition Assistance Program) which provides assistance to low-income households. The majority of the money that flows through the Farm Bill is spent on SNAP.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) provides commodity foods to state agencies for distribution by food banks. These are 100% American grown foods that range from meat and fish to fruits and vegetables.
My Focus: SNAP legislation to ensure that there is no breakdown in funding if there is another shutdown. We also need to tie SNAP benefits to the cost of living so that the benefits meet the price of groceries.
Regarding TEFAP, we need legislation that provides regional hubs to create better price competition and remove the barriers to small and medium sized farms to participate in the program. This should get food to the people who need it faster and help bolster our local farm economies.
This is basically the SNAP (Supplemenatl Nutrition Assistance Program) which provides assistance to low-income households. The majority of the money that flows through the Farm Bill is spent on SNAP.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) provides commodity foods to state agencies for distribution by food banks. These are 100% American grown foods that range from meat and fish to fruits and vegetables.
My Focus: SNAP legislation to ensure that there is no breakdown in funding if there is another shutdown. We also need to tie SNAP benefits to the cost of living so that the benefits meet the price of groceries.
Regarding TEFAP, we need legislation that provides regional hubs to create better price competition and remove the barriers to small and medium sized farms to participate in the program. This should get food to the people who need it faster and help bolster our local farm economies.
This is a risk management protection program for farmers. It’s no surprise that large scale and corporate farming operations get the most benefit from this program, Compared to small and medium farms, these large operations have the ability to scale, benefit from diverse geographical operations and have access to the better insurance options.
My focus: Leveling the playing field is a key priority. An average of 62% of crop insurance is subsidized by the federal government. All farms are generally able to participate but large farms receive the most value. This matters because smaller farms have smaller margins and therefore, less of an opportunity to make a profit. We need to recalculate the payouts to reflect the difference that a natural disaster has on small and medium farms, like Georgia’s pecan farmers, compared to large scale operations, looking at the real-world recovery time for the crop.
This is a safety net for farmers that allows them to cover their costs and stay in business during unexpected market changes that push prices below that set in the Farm Bill. The goal is to keep the United State globally competitive and avoid supply chain shortfalls.
My Focus: The Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) need to be based on current market rates and cost of goods. This legislation needs to include adjustments for the real impact of the tangible and intangible impact of climate change on the ability to grow effectively.
It’s a cliché but farmers really do love the land and provide excellent stewardship of it for generations. The programs under this section provide support so that farmers can go above and beyond in protecting the environment. The three key programs are the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQUIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). These programs provide support to farmers who stop farming delicate land areas for 10 – 15 years and instead plant grass and trees to stem soil erosion and create wildlife habitats. They offer education and resources that make farms cleaner and healthier by adding fences to protect livestock from streams, better irrigation systems to save water and cover crops to promote soil health.
My Focus: I want to ensure that access to these programs is available to all farmers, regardless of size, equally. As climate change impacts the environment for farmers and wildlife alike, farmland is one place where they can coexist in a safe and healthy space.
