For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Release: Funding Deal Delivers Disaster Relief but Fails to Support Farmers in Building Resilience Against Future Crises 

Washington, DC, December 18, 2024 – Yesterday, Congressional leaders reached an agreement to fund the government, extend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill), and provide disaster relief funding for areas hit by natural disasters. The deal, which would extend fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding through March 14, 2025, and the 2018 Farm Bill through September 2025, does not incorporate Inflation Reduction Act conservation investments into the farm bill extension.

“While NSAC is heartened that Congressional leaders reached agreement on much-needed funding for revenue-based agriculture disaster relief that includes non-insured farms, we are deeply discouraged by the political decision to limit countless farmers’ ability to build both their productivity and resilience against future disasters,” said Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director. “Beginning in early 2025, Agriculture Committee and Congressional leaders must prioritize a bipartisan farm bill reauthorization that recoups the remaining fraction of the conservation investment left on the table by this deal.”

By rejecting a permanent increase to USDA’s funding for working lands conservation, Congress has directly shortchanged farmers’ long term needs and all but ensured that future agriculture disaster requests will become more costly to taxpayers. 

In fact, a report published today by the Government Accountability Office highlights both the increasing annual cost of disaster assistance since FY2019 and the disparity in delivering that financial assistance to farmers. To illustrate, the top seven percent of producers between FY2019 and FY2023 received an average payment of $272,000 from the federal government annually, while 90 percent of recipients saw an average payment of $12,000. Roughly half of all agricultural producers received no financial assistance at all. To combat this discrepancy amidst the rising frequency of extreme weather events, it is increasingly important that disaster relief is accessible to all farmers.

“The authorization for revenue-based disaster relief included in this deal for farmers unable to access crop insurance lays the foundation for USDA to deliver assistance that is not only accessible but responsive to the diverse recovery needs of all farmers, including those still reeling from the crop loss, infrastructure damage, and soil erosion and contamination caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. In the weeks and months ahead, we look forward to working alongside USDA to deliver relief where it is needed most,” noted Lavender.

In addition to disaster relief, NSAC is also pleased that the deal includes critical funding for farm bill programs without permanent baseline, including National Organic Certification Cost-Share, Scholarships for 1890s Institutions, and the Organic Production & Market Data Initiative.

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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. Learn more and get involved at: https://sustainableagriculture.net