FARM BILL

The 2007 Farm Bill is about to make its way through Congress, so if you enjoy eating food, drinking clean water and stimulating your local economy, listen up. Now is the perfect time to get involved. Already members of the Congressional Subcommittee on Agriculture, three of whom are Georgians, have begun putting together the budget for this important piece of legislation. They need to hear from us.

The Farm Bill is supposed to support our farmers and ensure that Americans will always have plenty of healthy food available to them. Because we believe that this legislation could do a better job on both fronts, we advocate contacting your congress people and requesting the following measures:

1) Sustainable and Organic Production – With demand for organic food growing every day, the farm bill should make increasing supply a priority. We advocate funding for resources, research and education for farmers who are transitioning to organic production. We also support the full funding of programs like ATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas) and NCAT (National Center for Appropriate Technology) which provide valuable information and educational services to farmers who want to grow more sustainably and/or organically.

2) Conservation – All working land conservation programs, including the Conservation Security Program (CSP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) which reward growers who farm responsibly should be fully funded and open to all. Currently 75% of applicants are denied access to these programs. We propose doubling the budget to $3 billion in order to open the door to more growers. Additionally the application process should be simplified and streamlined to eliminate multiple forms, redundant entries and confusing program regulations.

3) New Farmers - We advocate the funding of a new farmer and rancher grant program that would provide financial assistance to new small-scale farmers who want to buy land and farm it in an environmentally responsible way as defined by current USDA conservation programs.

4) Infrastructure – We believe the lack of infrasturcture for local food systems needs to be addressed immediately. We support $1 billion in funding for the development of local infrastructure for small scale farmers. This would include, but not be limited to, the development and marketing of farmer’s markets, community supported agriculture schemes, community gardens, and small scale processing.

5) Public Health – We propose funding to support the purchase of fresh, local and organic foods by public schools, hospitals and nursing homes. Large scale consumers should be able to purchase food from their own communities in order to build local economies and serve the health needs of those dependant on their services.

Read Georgia Organics' entire article on the 2007 Farm Bill

Send a Message to Congress

More Information
Check out the resources below for the more information on Farm Bill Advocacy.

Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
Organic Farming Research Foundation