The Farm Bill affects everyone...as we all have to eat!

What food choices we have, how our food is grown, who grows it, whether or not it is processed, and how much food costs are some of the finer points dictated by federal farm policy.  In the four-county region of Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance, the focus is less on commodities to large mono-crops, and more on programs supporting farm to cafeteria programs, fresh fruits and vegetables sales, and farmers’ markets, to name a few.

In late summer 2007, Lawrence Rael, on behalf of the MRCOG’s Agribusiness Collaborative, sent a letter to the New Mexico Congressional Delegation, urging support for key provisions in the 2007 Farm Bill that would enhance local agriculture in this region.  We supported programs aimed at farmland preservation, food and nutrition, specialty crops and farmers’ markets.  As a result, the we've been tracking the Farm Bill as it proceeds through Congress. 

Farm Bill Status

By summer’s end, the House had passed its version of the Farm Bill and turned it over to the Senate.  After much political wrangling, the Senate did bring the bill to the floor and passed it by a vote of 79-14 on December 14th.  Unfortunately, however, the action was too late in the session for a conference committee to convene so that work will occur when the Congress returns in late January.  Still to come will be ironing out the differences in the two versions, sending the bill to the President, and hoping that it is veto-proof (the President has said he would veto either version).  

Key Provisions

While the total package is nearly $300 billion, the largest amount is concentrated in food support, commodity payments, and energy and land conservation.  Specific provisions that would benefit the middle region of New Mexico are as follows:

• The Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program helps farmers and ranchers across the nation preserve their land and the rural character of their communities.
• The Value-Added Producer Grants Program helps farmers and ranchers take advantage of marketing opportunities in value-added agriculture.
• The Direct to Consumer Marketing Assistance Program helps to promote new market opportunities for farmers and ranchers by providing $25 million a year in grants to establish and promote farmers’ markets and other direct to consumer sales activities.
• The Farmers Market Promotion Programwould be a tremendous boon to the markets in the mid-region
• the Community Food Projects (CFP) Competitive Grant Program helps provide grants such as the Farm to Cafeteria program 
• Funding for local food infrastructure would enable local and regional producers to supply products to under-served and institutional markets.  Farmers who are growing for local markets face significant barriers in getting products to market including: a lack of processing plants, warehouses, brokers, and affordable transportation options. Minority and low-income farmers are especially challenged, given the barriers they often face in utilizing USDA services. This fund provides government support for revitalization of local and regional food system infrastructure that as decreased in the past decade.
• The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program provides an excellent vehicle for nutrition education and promotes healthy eating habits.  
• Allowing for geographical preferences in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs means schools can request local food, where practical.
• Strengthening the federal Food Stamp Program expands consumer access to fresh fruits and vegetables.  Supporting Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Programs (FMNP), gives low-income families and seniors the ability to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables directly from farmers at the farmers’ markets.
• The Urban Agriculture Production Program helps to improve food security and enhances urban sustainability by providing grants and technical assistance to promote agriculture in urban areas, particularly food insecure areas.

There are a number of intersting articles and helpful websites for better understanding the  2007 Farm Bill, including:

• Daniel Imhoff’s Essay, Food Fight (the preface to his Book:  Food Fight, The Citizen’s Guide to a Food and Farm Bill)
• Michael Pollan’s New York Times article: You are What You Grow
• Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy:  A Fair Farm Bill for Taxpayers
• American Farmland Trust’s Farm Bill Primers and Background Reading
• The Environmental Working Group’s Farm Subsidy Database