FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Jordan Treakle
National Program Coordinator
jordan@nffc.net
(202) 543-5675
Antonio Tovar
Senior Policy Associate
antonio@nffc.net
(202) 543-5675
NFFC’s Progressive Farm Bill Platform Offers Policies Placing Family Farmers First
Washington, DC, February 23, 2023 –
Today, the National Family Farm Coalition released its 2023 Farm Bill Platform urging lawmakers to pass a suite of policy proposals that prioritize consumers, family farmers and ranchers, and rural communities over the profits of corporate agribusinesses.
Big Ag and structurally problematic farm policy continue to undermine family farms and ranches, leading to the drastic loss of generational wealth, depressed rural communities, and a highly concentrated food and farm system vulnerable to disruption—problems largely ignored by Congress and government agencies.
The Farm Bill opens an important opportunity to reverse these trends and ensure good food for all, prosperous local economies, and healthy ecosystems. NFFC’s 2023 Farm Bill platform includes policy proposals that bolster a more equitable, fair food system. Its four primary policy priorities are:
– Dairy reform based on supply management and price floors
– Stronger land access for historically underserved farmers and communities
– Improved access to agricultural credit
– Equitable implementation of USDA debt relief.
NFFC policy proposals include passing the new Milk From Family Dairies Act; enhancing the Heirs’ Property Relending Program; extending the farm foreclosure moratorium; and helping farmers access Inflation Reduction Act funds without imposing unnecessary tax burdens.
Additional recommendations include increased funding for the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), stronger antitrust regulations, a moratorium on agribusiness mergers, and focused efforts to dismantle corporate agribusiness monopolies.
While these demands to Congress are not new, NFFC recognizes that family-scale farmers, especially farmers of color, continue to lose ground – literally and figuratively – at alarming rates. For example, the number of dairy farms has fallen from more than 202,000 in 1987 to below 30,000 today. Meanwhile, the number of Black farmers peaked around 1910 at 925,000 and is fewer than 36,000 today. The backbone of rural America, small-scale family farms comprise 89% of all farms, yet more than 77% operate on razor-thin and shrinking profit margins of 10% or less.
As NFFC board president and retired organic dairy farmer, Jim Goodman, said,
“The 2023 Farm Bill needs to be an investment in local and regional food systems. COVID-19 highlighted the flaws of a food system that was more concerned with corporate profit than the needs of average people. Farmers want fair prices for their work, not the government subsidies of our current system that promotes overproduction and under-priced commodities to be dumped in a corporate-controlled global market. I think back to a time when farmers and laborers earned a fair wage, a time of commodity price floors, parity pricing and supply management—when rural communities were vibrant and we knew where our food came from.”
The Farm Bill has far-reaching impacts on food and agriculture. Our elected representatives in Congress have the opportunity to furnish food providers with access to land, credit, and fair prices to ensure an affordable, healthy, climate-and environment-friendly food supply for everyone living in America. Given the ongoing instability following COVID-19’s health and economic crisis, a common-sense Farm Bill that supports agroecology, rural communities, international human rights, and real environmental protection is a meaningful start to healing America.
Read more about NFFC’s 2023 Farm Bill Platform here.
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Since 1986, National Family Farm Coalition has been mobilizing family farmers and ranchers to achieve fair prices, vibrant communities, and healthy foods free of corporate domination. Today, NFFC’s 31 member groups span 44 states and represent family farmers, ranchers, and fishing people across the United States. To learn more, visit www.nffc.net.