NFFC Farm and Food Policy

NFFC is committed to improving the economic opportunity of our nation's rural farmers and communities. This requires effective work in domestic and international trade policy to ensure the right and responsibility of nations to make their own decisions about how to develop and protect the capacity to grow food, sustain the livelihood of food producers, and feed the people in its own borders.

Due to NFFC’s efforts and protests, Dairy Farmers of America was fined $12 million for price manipulation in December 2008 but the problem continues. The late Bryan Wolfe, an Ohio dairy farmers noted that “With these prices, many experts predict only 20% of dairy farmers will be able to survive the coming months. This would be a catastrophe for both our rural communities and for consumers demanding local, fresh milk and wary of tainted dairy imports.”

Activities

The Farm and Food Policy Task Force addresses specific domestic policy proposals, and deals with national and international food security and food sovereignty issues. The billions currently spent on taxpayer-financed farm programs and emergency payments create a false impression that farmers receive a sufficient income. In fact, those billions, while paid to farmers act as subsidies to livestock factories, processors, and exporters that buy commodities at low prices. Taxpayers unknowingly fund the demise of the nation's diversified family farms.

NFFC challenges the ideology of expanding production and exports. NFFC promotes a sustainable federal farm policy that works for family farmers through a system of price supports (not income supports), food security reserves, conservation programs, open competitive markets, and the development of new consumer-farmer market options. NFFC seizes important opportunities to dispel the myths that support current farm policy and offer alternative effective solutions. Activities include grassroots legislative campaigns, hearings, and coalition-building.

In fall 2002, a NFFC Dairy Subcommittee formed as part of the Farm and Food Policy Task Force to address the growing crisis in the dairy sector.

Priorities

1. Continue to implement the long-term NFFC campaign to change current federal farm policy, working with NFFC member groups and partner organizations.
2. Build support for our comprehensive policy proposal, the Food from Family Farms Act (FFFA) (NFFC-authored alternative Farm Bill), among farmers, politicians, consumers, environmentalists, and other constituencies.
3. Continue to develop materials to illustrate how corporate agribusiness benefits from the current farm policy and how it harms family farmers, consumers, and the environment.
4. Support efforts to eliminate the pork, beef, dairy and other check-off programs, and to combat factory livestock confinement operations.
5. Link domestic policy with international focus on opposing multi-national agribusiness corporations.

NFFC is committed to improving the economic opportunity of our nation's rural farmers and communities. This requires effective work in domestic and international trade policy to ensure the right and responsibility of nations to make their own decisions about how to develop and protect the capacity to grow food, sustain the livelihood of food producers, and feed the people in its own borders.