Farm Bill, Food Bill

We buy good food from farmers. We look for local food at our grocery stores. We inquire at restaurants about what is in season.

So we’re doing our part, right? This “Farm Bill” we keep hearing about doesn’t affect us, right?

Wrong. While we absolutely influence the food system through our own food choices, our agricultural policy has such large effects on what farmers grow that unless we pay attention to policy, we’re only fighting half the fight.

You probably know that the federal government subsidizes corn, soybeans and other commodities. But did you know there is also assistance for farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms? Assistance for organic farmers to pay for their certifications? Sustainable agriculture research? Rural broadband?

All these and an amazing number of other programs are all spelled out in the Farm Bill, which is rewritten every five years or so. When this happens, every program is up for grabs—for good or bad.

That rewriting is happening right now.

I wish I could report that this Farm Bill represents true reform, as it claims in the title of the bill. But as long as powerful agribusiness lobbies have the House and Senate Agriculture Committees in their corner, these committees will keep offering the same old, same old.

Don’t be fooled by statements about how they have gotten rid of subsidies for corn and soy and other commodities; the new game is “commodity insurance," which—just like the farm subsidies of the past—is highly subsidized by taxpayers and skewed so that big farms will still get big government checks. Needed safety nets for our farmers continue to be shaped to favor larger, specialized farms.

So the outlook for the next five years is that commodities like corn will continue to be cheap, which means that high fructose corn syrup promises to be as prevalent and as cheap as ever. This doesn’t look like reform, but rather like what we’ve come to expect from the agriculture committees.

Discouraged? Don't be. An amazing thing happened this week. The rest of the Senate got to look at what their Agriculture Committee has been working on. And the rest of the Senate made some changes.

For example:

• The Senate voted that any farmer who receives subsidized crop insurance must perform basic conservation practices on their land. This may seem like a small change, but it includes protections for highly erodible land and for wetlands—something all of us downstream can be thankful for.
• There is now aid for entrepreneurial farmers who want to get into new markets, including new products for those of us who eat locally. While this program (called the Value Added Producer Grant program) has been hugely successful so far, the Senate Agriculture Committee decided to scrap it. Thankfully the full Senate restored it.
• The Senate boosted support for beginning farmers. Our farming population is aging and we will see a wave of retirements in our near future. This will help provide the next generation of farmers has access to the resources they need to get started.

The Senate passed the Farm Bill today, and if you remember your Schoolhouse Rock you will know the Farm Bill must still make its trip through the House of Representatives. And just like in the Senate, every program will be up for grabs. The bill’s first stop will be the House’s Agriculture Committee, with the same agribusiness lobbies as in the Senate committee.

But we are witnessing something encouraging: Eaters, as well as sustainable farmers, are finding their voice. As the bill heads to the House of Representatives, we hope that voice ensures that the House will also see the need for conservation requirements to receive crop insurance subsidies, aid for entrepreneurial farmers, and support for beginning farmers.