{"id":58877,"date":"2024-06-05T17:21:39","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T21:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/?p=58877"},"modified":"2024-06-05T17:27:41","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T21:27:41","slug":"release-senate-hearing-highlights-need-for-broader-view-of-beginning-farmer-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/release-senate-hearing-highlights-need-for-broader-view-of-beginning-farmer-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Release: Senate Hearing Highlights Need for Broader View of Beginning Farmer Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For Immediate Release<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact: Laura Zaks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition<\/p>\n\n\n\n

press@sustainableagriculture.net<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tel. 347.563.6408<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Release: Senate Hearing Highlights Need for Broader View of Beginning Farmer Challenges<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Washington, DC, June 5, 2024<\/em> \u2013 Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry\u2019s Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade held a hearing entitled, \u201cPathways to Farming: Helping the Next Generation of Farmers<\/a>.\u201d The almost two-hour hearing featured four witnesses who spoke to their experiences as beginning farmers and ranchers. In response to the hearing, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) issued the following statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWe need federal farm policy that centers equity, addresses the land access crisis, and tackles the challenges of farm viability and climate change that young farmers and ranchers struggle with daily. This Farm Bill is our best opportunity to prioritize the needs of a new generation and to build safe and thriving food and farm systems. Unfortunately, while some of our recommendations were voiced in the Pathways to Farming Senate Subcommittee hearing, the focus on base acres and reference prices as the best solution to support the next generation of farmers missed the mark<\/em>,” said Michelle Hughes, Co-Executive Director of <\/strong>Young Farmers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe next farm bill should serve <\/em>all farmers,\u201d <\/em>said Billy Hackett, Policy Specialist at NSAC<\/strong>. \u201cYesterday\u2019s hearing showcased perspectives indicating that generational beginning farmers face different needs compared to new farmers, who need support to enter this industry without existing relationships, institutional knowledge, or assets<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Tessa Parks<\/strong>, a member of Young Farmers and the Land Stewardship Project<\/strong>, both NSAC members, was the only witness able to speak to the unique, heightened challenges that first-generation farmers experience. She said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cBeginning farmers like me face significant barriers to entry into agriculture, including a farm safety net that favors larger and more established farms, barriers to accessing land and capital, climate change, and ongoing corporate consolidation in agriculture that limits our opportunities and diminishes competition in the marketplace<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In opening remarks, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN)<\/strong>, Chair of the subcommittee, and Senator<\/strong> Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)<\/strong>, Chairwoman of the full committee, mentioned the rising consolidation and price of farmland, asserting that careless increases to commodity programs would exacerbate these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cA study\u2026 found a 10 percent increase to the Price Loss Coverage Program\u2026 would result in hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars going into the pockets of landlords and investors, not [active] farmers<\/em>,\u201d said Sen. Smith<\/strong>. \u201cLand that is counted as base acres by the commodity program is more expensive to purchase and more costly to rent<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Sen. Stabenow <\/strong>added that \u201cthe House proposal to increase these programs by 70 percent… and relax and remove payment eligibility limits for the biggest farms, will make land rents even more unaffordable for beginning farmers\u2026 Making crop insurance more affordable and accessible is a much more effective way to help farmers and it does not depend on what you planted back in the \u201880s to be able to get support. And it covers what producers are actually growing<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cBase acre expansion is not a silver bullet or even a priority for new and beginning farmers represented by NSAC and our member organizations, who tend to be small to mid-sized and diversified, and who consistently express the need for support to facilitate access to land, capital, markets, conservation programs, and protection against worsening disasters through expanded crop insurance access<\/em>,\u201d continued Hackett<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Notably, Sen. Smith<\/strong> mentioned her partnership with Young Farmers, saying \u201cI have worked closely with [Young Farmers] on crafting the Increasing <\/em>Land Access, Security, and Opportunities Act,<\/em><\/a> known as LASO. This bill would directly help beginning farmers and historically underserved farmers acquire affordable land, develop markets, and get access to capital<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The subcommittee chair also entered NSAC\u2019s latest report, Unsustainable: State of the Farm Safety Net<\/a>, into the congressional record as a resource detailing the many challenges that young, beginning, and small producers face to access these pivotal USDA programs, as well as the inequitable distribution of resources through farm programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

In a similar vein, noting that \u201c10 percent of farm operations receive 70 percent of all yearly farm payment subsidies,\u201d Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)<\/strong> asked if \u201cclosing loopholes so [that] only actively engaged farmers\u2026 receive Title I payments [could] help beginning farmers compete with larger operations.\u201d This line of questioning was a reference to the bipartisan Farm Program Integrity Act<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In advance of the hearing, NSAC circulated a brief<\/a> comparing many provisions across the Senate and House farm bill proposals intended to support beginning farmers. The brief concludes that the farm bill proposal from Chairwoman Stabenow, which included almost all priorities uplifted by the farmers in yesterday\u2019s hearing, does more to meet the needs of new and beginning producers than the House mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWith nearly a third of the country\u2019s total agricultural land expected to change hands over the next twenty years, this farm bill comes at a time when the future of American agriculture is at a crossroads,\u201d <\/em>said Nick Rossi, Policy Specialist at NSAC. <\/strong>\u201cDo we continue down the path of \u2018get big or get out\u2019, or do we pass a farm bill that addresses equitable land access, retention, and transition?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Parks<\/strong> suggested that Congress <\/em>\u201ccreate and improve programs to help with land and capital access for beginning farmers, invest in programs that tackle climate change and improve the resilience of our farm operations, and address the urgent need for better access to affordable health care and child care in rural areas.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWe urge Members of Congress to really listen to the needs of the new generation of farmers  and not to be afraid of challenging the status quo. This is our opportunity to deliver the kind of changes to policies and programs that will allow beginning farmers and ranchers to build successful careers and provide for their communities,<\/em>\u201d said Vanessa Garcia Polanco, Director of Government Relations at Young Farmers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

###<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more and get involved at: <\/em>https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry\u2019s Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade held a hearing entitled, \u201cPathways to Farming: Helping the Next Generation of Farmers.\u201d The almost two-hour hearing featured four witnesses who spoke to their experiences as beginning farmers and ranchers. In response to the hearing, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) issued the following statements…. Read More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[194,197,166],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-58877","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-beginning-minority-farmers","7":"category-competition-antitrust","8":"category-press-releases","9":"entry","10":"clb-missing-post-thumbnail"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRelease: Senate Hearing Highlights Need for Broader View of Beginning Farmer Challenges - National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry\u2019s Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade held a hearing entitled, \u201cPathways to Farming: Helping the Next Generation of Farmers.\u201d The almost two-hour hearing featured four witnesses who spoke to their experiences as beginning farmers and ranchers. 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