U.S. Farm Policy

The new Congress will take up agriculture policy when it begins the debate over the reauthorization of the farm bill, which will guide U.S. policy for the next five years. A number of organizations will lobby for a bill that supports family farmers and sustainable agriculture rather, than industrial agriculture and ADM.

American Farmland Trust | Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy | Building Sustainable Futures for Farmers Globally

The American Farmland Trust, based in Washington D.C., “is committed to protecting the nation’s best farm and ranch land and improving the economic viability of agriculture. The Farmland Trust’s work in California focuses on the San Joaquin Valley. For more information, contact Edward Thompson, Jr., the California state director in Davis, 530-753-1073.

The trust has developed a policy paper, Agenda 2007: A New Framework and Direction for U.S. Farm Policy (PDF), which seeks to enhance the profitability and competitiveness of farmers, expand environmental stewardship, advance rural prosperity and improve the health of consumers. The framework would provide:

“protection of a strategic base of our best agricultural land—American farmers’ only unique, sustainable competitive advantage—as well as investment in research and expanded on-the-ground assistance to help jump-start a new generation of farmers and offer opportunities for minority farmers.”

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minnesota “promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy.” The institute’s Ag Observatory monitors developments related to the farm bill and offers policy alternatives.

The institute also works with Building Sustainable Futures for Farmers Globally, which is developing an “international campaign to reform farm and trade policies, including proposals for commodities, biomass, small-farm alternatives and food aid.”