Small Gains, Big Disappointments in Status Quo Farm Bill

NFFCPress Room

National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) applauds the rejection of punitive work requirements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the inclusion of several “small but mighty” provisions in the final text of the farm bill released today, including measures developed by NFFC to improve credit access. However, NFFC does not support the overall status quo direction of the bill, which does not go far enough to improve the lives and livelihoods of family farmers and rural communities.

Current Farm Policy Direction Hurts Family Farmers

NFFCPress Room

As the farm bill conference committee attempts to finalize the bill before the end of the current Congress, the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) urges the federal government to focus more on policy to support family farmers and rural communities, and less on stripping benefits from vulnerable populations. According to reports, farm bill negotiations have considered draconian work requirements for SNAP recipients and harmful changes to forest management policies, while not addressing fair compensation for producers or the ongoing corporate concentration that is hollowing out rural areas.

House Farm Bill Passes, Will Fail Rural America

NFFCBlog

National Family Farm Coalition is extremely disappointed in the passage of the House farm bill yesterday. This draconian measure does little to help family farmers, while proposing punitive work requirements for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), making detrimental changes to conservation, and cutting funding for important programs that support local food systems. At a moment when farm income is projected at a 12-year low and dairy farmers are going out of business by the week, Congress must provide real solutions for struggling farmers, not play politics with the future of rural America.

Over 200 Groups Urge Congress to Level the Playing Field for Farmers, Workers and Consumers

NFFCPress Room

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.