NSAC's Blog
ALERT: Farmers and American Communities Deserve a Better Farm Bill
May 15, 2018
Photo credit: NSAC
You might have heard from us last week about the 2018 Farm Bill – thanks for making a call to your Senators to help ensure the Senate’s version of the bill invests in a better food and farm future!
Today our focus turns to the other side of Capitol Hill*: the House of Representatives is poised to vote on its own, different version of the 2018 Farm Bill this week, and folks, this bill is bad. Here’s a sample:
- Conservation – the House bill erases support for resource stewardship on 70 million acres (that’s an area the size of Nevada!) of working farm and ranchland by completely eliminating the Conservation Stewardship Program.
- Local food – the House bill abandons local farmers by cutting all funding for several programs that invest in helping farmers connect to local and regional buyers and in improving healthy food access.
- Beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers – the House bill misses the mark by failing to invest more in beginning farmers, military veteran farmers, and farmers of color. With the average age of farmers continuing to rise, the status quo is not enough to ensure the success of these key farmer communities.
- Crop insurance and commodities – the House bill opens major new loopholes allowing for unlimited subsidies that will continue to distort land prices and create an unfair playing field for farmers.
In addition to all of this, the bill makes major changes to the SNAP (food stamp) program that will harm families and children, removing over 2 million people from the program. In short, the House farm bill would be a disaster for farms, diversified and organic operations, the environment, local food systems, low-income families, and rural communities – if it passes, it could set our shared movement back decades! **
The good news? It hasn’t passed yet. There’s still time to get a better farm bill done this year.
Can you help us take one quick action right now to save our food and farm future?
Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Ask for your Representative and, once they connect you, leave a message like this one:
Hello, my name is [____] and I am a constituent. Please vote NO on H.R. 2 – the 2018 Farm Bill. This bill will harm farmers, communities, resource conservation, local food, beginning farmers, and more [you can be as specific as you want!] – it must be defeated so a decent bill, one we can be proud of, can be brought back for consideration later this year. Thank you.
Thanks for taking 30 seconds to call right now! If this bill fails to pass, it sends a message to the House of Representatives: go back to the drawing board and write a better bill! We deserve a better farm bill for our nation’s farmers and communities.
Every call makes a difference.
Thanks for all you do,
NSAC’s Grassroots Team
*Looking for a refresher on how a bill becomes a law? Why are the House and Senate working on different bills? Check out our handy infographic.
**Need more reasons why this bill is bad? Check out our Top 10 Reasons to Reject the House Farm Bill post for more.
Categories: Action Alerts