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FARM BILL 2023 | Nutrition Marker Bills
This post originally appeared on the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council blog. It is the second one in their Farm Bill 2023 series that focuses on marker bills.
Something you may not know is that the Farm Bill is categorized into twelve titles. Each title focuses on a category of legislative topics related to the food system at the federal level. The fourth title is the Nutrition Title. Our previous marker bill blog post highlighted marker bills from the other eleven titles. The Nutrition Title requires a blog post of its own, because this title receives a massive portion of the funding that is authorized by the Farm Bill.
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NOC Members Urge Congressional Leaders to Advance Organic Agriculture
This post originally appeared on the National Organic Coalition (NOC) blog.
Twenty six farmers, scientists, policy advocates and organic company representatives from the National Organic Coalition advocated for organic agriculture last week in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, we criss-crossed Capitol Hill, where we met with 56 Congressional Offices. 24 meetings were with Members of Congress (or their staff) who sit on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees – the committees responsible for writing the 2023 Farm Bill.
During visits with congressional offices, we focused on four themes to advance organic in the 2023 Farm Bill:
- A proposed Opportunities in Organic Program, which will establish a suite of flexible, easy-to-access tools to reduce barriers to organic agriculture.
- Strengthening organic integrity, which is all about ensuring the continuous improvement of USDA’s organic standards.
- Expanding organic research, which will provide tools to address production, marketing and environmental challenges.
- Strengthening USDA’s conservation programs for organic farmers, which highlights that organic farming is climate-smart and environmentally sound.
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Inflation Reduction Act Funding for Climate-Smart Agriculture
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law on August 16, 2022. Among its other aims, the act includes investments in federal programs that address the climate crisis, like those in support of climate-smart agriculture practices. As such, part of the IRA’s $19.5 billion package includes funding for oversubscribed conservation programs implemented by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). In fiscal year 2023, this means $850 million will be available for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).
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A Transformational Approach to the 2023 Farm Bill
Written by Ricardo Salvador, 2023 OEFFA Conference Keynote
The upcoming reauthorization of the farm bill will be the 23rd iteration of this legislation. According to Jonathan Coppess and Chris Adamo—Vermont Law School teachers of a course on the “modern farm bill”—this version could be revolutionary. They see the main driver of this potential departure being the role agriculture could play in mitigating climate change.
A Push for Business As Usual—But a Need for Something New
A problem with this otherwise sensible prediction is that it would require genuine change in farm practices and the policies that incentivize and support the structure of farming.
Already, the incoming chair of the House Agriculture Committee is on record stating that he “will not have us suddenly incorporate buzzwords like regenerative agriculture into the farm bill or overemphasize climate.” The president of the Iowa Farm Bureau—the most influential state chapter of the powerful national federation—wants the bill to stay the same, and continue to distribute public largesse without any expectation that it will return verifiable environmental benefits.
FARM POLICY MATTERS