House Farm Bill Passes, Will Fail Rural America

NFFC Blog

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

NFFC Press 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.

Legislative Update from D.C.

NFFC Blog

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack appeared before the House Agriculture Committee last week to discuss the state of the rural economy and field questions on the implementation of the Farm Bill.  Over the past few weeks USDA officials have appeared before the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to discuss USDA’s proposed budget for FY2015.  And as always, bills are being introduced on the Hill that would have real impacts on the lives of  farmers.  Here are some key highlights: