Time is running out on a 2012 Farm Bill

Our message to Congress has been clear all year:  We need a fair and equitable farm bill, and we need it this year.  

Unfortunately, members of Congress are still at an impasse in completing a new farm bill — even though the Senate passed their version earlier this summer and the House Agriculture Committee passed one out of committee. House leadership has yet to bring the proposed bill to the House floor for debate and a vote.

Congress is now in a lame-duck session with only a few legislative work days remaining for the year. In the new year, a new Congress will be sworn in — and the legislative process will begin anew for all bills.

We are continuing to let Congress know that we need a 2012 Farm Bill – and we need it without further delay.

Please join in solidarity. You will be joining with:

• Farmers seeking the tools they need to succeed in the field and in their local communities.
• Food advocates working to ensure access to fresh, healthy food in schools and for those in need.
• Concerned citizens anxious for real reform of farm subsidies and the elimination of wasteful direct payments.

Learn more about our farm & food policy at Agriculture & Food: Focus on 2012 Farm Bill.

We call for a new five-year Farm Bill that:

Invests in the future of healthy farms, food and people. How to do so?

• Harness the economic power of local food and small businesses to strengthen rural and urban communities and create jobs.

• Ensure access to fresh, healthy food for all — including those in need and in our schools.

• Grow the next generation of American farmers by providing the tools, training, and access to capital that beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers need to succeed.

• Reward farmers for their environmental stewardship by fully funding farm conservation programs.

• Link federal crop insurance support to conservation of wetlands and fragile soils.

• Eliminate wasteful direct payments.

• Target support to working farm families by closing loopholes that benefit mega-farms and millionaire investors.

• Cap farm and crop insurance subsidies to improve fiscal responsibility.

This is our last chance to get a farm bill done this year, and to get it done right.

Comments

Deacon Lynn Clancy | Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Passage of a by-partisan farm bill now can be the model for a by-partisan resolution of the fiscal cliff dilemma.

Mary Vlazny | Thursday, November 01, 2012

Please work for nutrition that makes a difference in the lives of children in the U.S. and around the world!