Dedicated to the memory of Katherine Ozer, we offer this newsletter in appreciation to our members and to others committed to a just farm and food system.
Preventing Black Land Loss through Heirs Property Eligibility
The Federation, along with its key partners, Arkansas Land & Farm Development Corporation, Land Loss Prevention Project, Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project, Rural Coalition and National Family Farm Coalition has advocated that USDA should expand its eligibility requirements to allow heirs property owners to be eligible for more USDA programs.
NFFC Statement on House Passage of Regressive Tax Reform
We are very disappointed in the House vote yesterday moving forward with its regressive tax reform. This bill would take hard-earned income from struggling rural communities and put it into corporate coffers and the pockets of millionaires.
Stop the Bayer+Monsanto Merger
There is a strong collaborative effort underway to stop the Bayer+Monsanto merger, but we need all hands on deck. There are three very important actions we are asking individuals and organizations to take to help stop the merger. Please scroll down for the details, and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or if you’d like to get more involved. Scroll to the bottom of this page for a list of talking points on the merger.
Organic is in the Soil
Unfortunately, USDA’s National Organic Standards Board did not heed the comments and concerns offered by Jim and other organic farmers, and voted to allow hydroponically grown produce to receive organic certification.
GIPSA Defends Meatpackers and Poultry Companies, Not Family Farmers
If there was any hope that Secretary Perdue and this administration would stand up for small- and medium-sized family farmers and the rural communities they support, that has been dashed now.
Over 200 Groups Urge Congress to Level the Playing Field for Farmers, Workers and Consumers
Today, a broad-based coalition of 210 farm, rural, worker and consumer advocacy organizations released principles for a fairer farm bill that would address the lack of competition in every link in the food chain. The groups point out that growing consolidation in the agribusiness, food processing and supermarket industries lowers prices for farmers and wages for farmworkers and other food chain workers, erodes rural economies, and raises prices while limiting choices for consumers. The letter calls on Congress to address the ongoing consolidation of these industries with policies that address unfair contracts for farmers, increase market transparency, reform USDA guaranteed loans and guarantee worker rights.
Farmers & Farm Organizations Urge EPA & USDA to Address Threat from Dicamba Pesticide Drift
As members of Congress return to Capitol Hill today, 85 farm and farmer support organizations sent letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) urging them to better protect farm families from an unprecedented spike in crop loss from herbicide drift. Experts estimate that dicamba, used on Monsanto’s latest seed line, has already damaged at least 3.1 million acres of farmland, an area the size of Connecticut.
Family Farm Groups from Three Countries Slam NAFTA Reboot Based on TPP
As the formal talks to renegotiate NAFTA begin in Washington, DC this week, family farm organizations from Canada, the United States and Mexico denounce the direction of the talks. Despite repeated demands by civil society organizations in all three countries, the governments have refused to open the talks to the public or to publish proposed negotiating texts. All signs point to negotiations designed to increase agribusiness exports and corporate control over the food system rather than to support fair and sustainable trade and farming systems.
Farm and Food Groups Say Bayer-Monsanto Merger Will Create Vegetable Seed Monopoly
The proposed deal would join the world’s largest and fourth largest vegetable seed companies, further tightening the stranglehold of the already concentrated vegetable seed industry.
National Family Farm Coalition: Renegotiating NAFTA Not a Solution
NAFTA should be replaced, not renegotiated, and our farmers will be watching to promote that at every turn.
Letter to USTR in Response to Query
The lack of supply management and other skewed policies are destroying US dairy farmers.