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January 1 Farm Bill Extension Deal is a Disaster for Farmers

January 1, 2013


For Immediate Release

January 1, 2013

January 1 Farm Bill Extension Deal is a Disaster for Farmers

Washington, DC – The farm bill extension deal reached in negotiations between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden is a disaster for farmers and the American people.  The nine month extension measure was attached to the bigger fiscal cliff bill and passed by the Senate early this morning and is coming up for a vote in the House later today.

The deal is blatantly anti-reform.  The full Senate and the House Agriculture Committee earlier this year agreed to permanently eliminate direct payment subsidies for commodity production regardless of price and income conditions, yet the deal would lock in those egregious subsidies for another full year at a $5 billion price tag.  On the other hand, many smaller, targeted programs to fund farm and food system reform and rural jobs, included in a weekend agreement between Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow and House Agriculture Chair Frank Lucas, were left out completely.  Also left out of the final deal is any workable dairy policy for the next year and any disaster aid for livestock and fruit producers.  The deal also has the effect of keeping farmers from being able to improve soil and water conservation through enrollment in the Conservation Stewardship Program at the present time.  We are extremely disappointed in the Republican leadership for proposing this deal and in the White House for accepting it.  The message is unmistakable – direct commodity subsidies, despite high market prices, are sacrosanct, while the rest of agriculture and the rest of rural America can simply drop dead.

We commend the Agriculture Committee leadership for trying to pass a more responsible extension measure, and on behalf of our member organizations and the farmers they represent we recommit ourselves to getting a true farm and food bill reform measure passed in 2013.

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities.
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Categories: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Press Releases


12 responses to “January 1 Farm Bill Extension Deal is a Disaster for Farmers”

  1. […] The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), meanwhile, has referred to it as “blatantly anti-reform,” while the Union of Concerned Scientists calls it “a giant step backward” and “a blow to […]

  2. […] The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), meanwhile, has referred to it as “blatantly anti-reform,” while the Union of Concerned Scientists calls it “a giant step backward” and […]

  3. […] January 1 Farm Bill Extension Deal is a Disaster for Farmers January 1, 2013Posted by HFHP Coalition TweetCross-posted from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition […]

  4. […] bill, Congress opted for a partial extension that renews nine months of subsidies that favor big agricultural corporations and ignores the needs of the small farmers who are often responsible for our vegetables, fruit and […]

  5. […] to do, a depressing start to the new year. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition issued a press release referring to the Farm Bill extension as “anti-reform” and “a disaster for farmers and the […]

  6. […] deal is blatantly anti-reform,’ said Ferd Hoefner, policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. ‘Many smaller, targeted […]

  7. […] The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), meanwhile, has referred to it as “blatantly anti-reform,” while the Union of Concerned Scientists calls it “a giant step backward” and “a blow to […]

  8. […] bill, Congress opted for a partial extension that renews nine months of subsidies that favor big agricultural corporations and ignores the needs of the small farmers who are often responsible for our vegetables, fruit and […]

  9. Frank Finkley Jr. says:

    We need A better Farm bill as A small farmerI pled to get A better farm bill thank you Frank.

  10. […] the Farm Bill, but doesn’t provide funding for some key sustainable programs, most notably the Conservation Stewardship Program, which provides farmers incentives and rewards […]

  11. […] over of sustainable farmers. You’re not alone — the big subsidy reform groups like the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the Environmental Working Group were bummed, […]

  12. […] screwing over of sustainable farmers. You’re not alone — the big subsidy reform groups like the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the Environmental Working Group were bummed, […]

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