FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Laura Zaks, Associate Director of Communications and Development

Tel: 347.563.6408

Email: press@sustainableagriculture.net

Release: New bill introduced in the US House and Senate proposes bipartisan solution to the farmland access crisis

Washington, DC, April 1, 2025 – Today, the bipartisan New Producer Economic Security Act was introduced in the U.S. House and Senate by Representatives Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), Zach Nunn (R-IA-03), Joe Courtney (D-CT-02), Don Davis (D-NC-01), Eric Sorenson (D-IL-17), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), and Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), as well as Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), to support young farmers and ranchers in accessing farmland. The legislation would authorize a new pilot program to address the interrelated challenges of land, capital, and market access for new producers through innovative, locally-led solutions. The bill helps secure our domestic food system by establishing a pilot program within the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA). 

“Land access is at the root of, and deeply tied to, many of the barriers farmers and ranchers face, including market access, access to operating capital, and day-to-day challenges such as changing weather patterns, mental health, and housing,” said Michelle Hughes, Co-Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition. “The New Producer Economic Security Act comes at a time when farmers need us the most. The bill comprehensively addresses the greatest barriers young and beginning farmers face while elevating local leadership, securing our domestic food system, and delivering material benefits for new producers.”

“The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition applauds the introduction of the ‘New Producer Economic Security Act.’ Land access is one of the biggest challenges for young and beginning farmers all across the country – from small-scale dairy farmers in New England, to livestock and grain producers in the Midwest, to specialty crop producers across the South. This bill will allow investment directly in an array of efforts aimed at improving access to land, capital, and markets for young and beginning farmers and ranchers across the country,” said Nick Rossi, Policy Specialist at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

For a deeper look at the bill, see this release from the National Young Farmers Coalition, an NSAC member.

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About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)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: https://sustainableagriculture.net/