August 2023 Farm Bill Updates

The 2023 Farm Bill is being written right now, so it is a critical time for your Members of Congress to hear from you in support of a more sustainable and equitable farm and food system.

Many marker bills have been introduced to build support for ideas that lawmakers might include in the final Farm Bill. Below are a few of the marker bills that support the work of small farmers and resilient local food systems. Take a look at the list and call your Representative and Senators to ask them to cosponsor the bills that matter most to you. 

From the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition:  

• Agriculture Resilience Act — S.1016 and H.R.1840
  Addresses the climate crisis by increasing investment in agricultural research, improving soil health, supporting the transition to pasture-based livestock, ensuring farmland preservation and viability, promoting on-farm renewable energy, and reducing food waste.
• Local Farms and Food Act — S.1205 and H.R. 2723
  Improves equity and access to the suite of Local Agriculture Market Programs (LAMP) and expands the reach of impactful nutrition incentives through GusNIP and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
• Supporting Urban & Innovative Farming Act — S.2591
  Expands support for urban, suburban, and innovative rural farmers through programmatic reforms to improve the content and delivery of technical assistance to urban and innovative producers, increases access to grant funds among farmers, and scales composting and food waste initiatives spearheaded by the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.
• Whole Farm Revenue Protection Act — S.2598
  Expands insurance access to producers historically left out of the federal crop insurance program.

From National Young Farmers Coalition: 

• Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities Act  — H.R.3955, S.2340
  Expands opportunities to support young BIPOC farmers across the country with real dollars for land access, retention, and transition.
• Small Farms Conservation Act  — S.2180
  Streamline the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), USDA’s flagship program that supports on-farm conservation, to make it easier for young and beginning BIPOC farmers to access financial support and technical assistance.
• Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act — S.2614
  Enhances and expands existing farmer-to-farmer education programs to help more young, beginning, and BIPOC farmers to adopt on-farm conservation practices that conserve water and build climate resiliency for the next generation. 

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Calling your Congressional Representative & Senators:

Don’t know who your representatives are? LOOK THEM UP HERE.

Step 1: Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. 

Step 2: Leave a message for your Senators and Representative like this: 

“Hi, my name is ____ and I’m a constituent and a ____ [farmer, parent, concerned citizen, etc]. As your constituent, I’m concerned about [issue that matters to you most]! Will you support farmers and healthy communities by cosponsoring the [bill name]? Thank you!”