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Beginning Farmer Bill on the Move
The end of first year of Ohio’s 134th General Assembly brought the passage of Ohio House Bill 95 (HB 95).
The Family Farm ReGeneration Act passed with almost unanimous support (Republican House Member Thomas Brinkman, Jr. was the only dissenting vote).
OEFFA has been championing legislation to alleviate the overwhelming challenges beginning farmers face in finding affordable farmland for several years.
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Why Farm Bill Conservation Programs Matter (and What You Can Do About It)
OEFFA’s member-farmers work hard every day to practice good conservation on their land.
They plant cover crops to feed the soil and protect it from erosion. They create buffers of grass, trees, and shrubs, that draw carbon from the atmosphere and protect our waterways and find creative ways to improve habitat for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.
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Biden Expands Anti-Trust Protections in Agriculture, Part 2
Last month, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. This EO is exciting in many ways, from the sheer scope of its ambition to its acknowledgment of some of the many ills that have plagued American farmers, from unfair contract farming to retaliation.
More on that EO can be found here.
One of the most exciting facets of the Order, however, only received a few sentences’ worth of attention.
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Biden Expands Anti-Trust Protections in Agriculture, Part 1
On July 9th, President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, which covers a variety of industries including the agricultural sector.
The Order identifies consolidation as a threat to the survival of small family farms and proposes a number of antitrust measures to bolster support for these farmers.
This EO is the latest in a long tradition of antitrust regulations spurred on by the agricultural industry.
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Ohio House Passes HB 95 to Help Farmers Overcome Land Access Challenges
On June 28, by a vote of 96 to 1, the Ohio House passed the Family Farm ReGeneration Act, which could clear a major hurdle for the next generation of Ohio farmers and create greater resilience in our local food system!
Thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far, by signing our petition, attending a hearing, or contacting a legislator. Your action really does make a difference!
Access to—and secure tenure on—affordable, high-quality farmland is the number one challenge young farmers face. At the same time, millions of acres of farmland is being lost to development or changing hands as older farmers retire.
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Organic Animal Welfare Rule to Move Forward
Animal welfare rules for organic livestock farmers have been in limbo for more than a decade.
In 2017, the Obama administration published the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) rule, which the Trump administration subsequently withdrew.
When the Biden administration took office, many organizations, including OEFFA, asked that three pending organic rules be first on the list of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) actions. OLPP was key among them. In mid-June, USDA Secretary Vilsack announced that the agency plans to reinstate animal welfare standards.
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New Pandemic Cover Crop Program is a First Step
This blog was originally posted by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP).
It will offer a $5 per acre premium discount to producers who planted qualifying cover crops during the 2021 crop year and enrolled in eligible federal crop insurance policies.
The PCCP is administered by the Risk Management Agency (RMA) and funds for this program are coming from the USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers (PAP) program.
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Unpacking Land Policy and What is Needed for a More Equitable Farming Future
This guest post was written by Holly Rippon-Butler, Land Campaign Director with the National Young Farmers Coalition.
This past year has highlighted the critically important role that young farmers and ranchers play in stewarding natural resources, advocating for policy change, and supporting food security. Yet, access to affordable, quality farmland—the key resource that these growers need—remains deeply inequitable and out of reach for far too many.
The National Young Farmers Coalition released a new report, Land Policy: Towards a More Equitable Farming Future, that illustrates the critical connection between land, policy and power. The report highlights the challenges young farmers, and in particular, Black, Indigenous, and other farmers of color (BIPOC), face accessing land and provides a detailed path forward through policy change.
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Tell the USDA Investments in Organic and Regenerative Agriculture Will Help Address the Climate Crisis
Time is running out! Comments are due by Thursday, April 29!
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now requesting input on agricultural solutions to climate change through this open docket.
We know that organic and regenerative farmers use the kind of holistic, systems-based practices necessary to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, sequester carbon, and mitigate the damaging effects of increasingly severe weather. Certified organic agriculture has a 20-year track record as the only USDA-accredited, voluntary, system-based approach to ecological agriculture that has soil health at its foundation and limits outside inputs that contribute to GHG emissions. -
Can a Carbon Bank Help Solve the Climate Crisis?
By Guest Blogger Eve Gleeson
With the new Biden administration comes the emergence of fresh ideas to tackle climate change and environmental degradation. A potential “carbon bank” for farmers has begun to gain traction, which would be able to reward farmers for sequestering carbon into soils by selling the resulting credits to corporations who wish to offset their emissions. While well-intended, there is no shortage of obstacles to creating a carbon bank that is as equitable, sustainable, and effective as its proponents suggest.
FARM POLICY MATTERS