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Call for a Resilient, Equitable, and Sustainable 2024 Farm Bill!
On September 11, our partners at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) delivered a letter to Congressional leaders with support from 1,096 groups across the country—including 43 sign-ons from Ohio alone!
The purpose of this letter was to affirm the need for a farm bill to be passed in 2024, without it coming at the expense of policies that address hunger, public health, farmers, workers, and the environment.
On September 11, our partners at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) delivered a letter to Congressional leaders with support from 1,096 groups across the country—including 43 sign-ons from Ohio alone!
The purpose of this letter was to affirm the need for a farm bill to be passed in 2024, without it coming at the expense of policies that address hunger, public health, farmers, workers, and the environment.
The Path to a New Farm Bill (Regularly Updated)
It’s GO time! Our federal policy team has been busy at work keeping up to date with the farm bill action in Congress. In this blog, you’ll find all relevant updates, with the oldest news at the bottom and the most recent updates at the top. Stay tuned for more as things are moving.
The Overturning of Chevron: What it Means for Our Work
When the Supreme Court overturned Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984), it did away with the precedent that regulatory agencies have deference regarding statutory interpretation. In other words, Chevron held that courts should defer to federal agencies’ expertise in interpreting ambiguous statues. Not only does this spare the courts from devoting time to ruling on ambiguities, but it also gives the responsibility of interpretation to federal agencies that are much better suited to the task.
Celebrating Earth Day with Representative Max Miller
Written in collaboration with the Organic Farmers Association.
There are few more impactful ways to celebrate Earth Day than by inviting a Congressperson to see some of Ohio’s organic farms! It was an honor learning from farmers at Woodlyn Acres Farm in Dalton, Ohio, and County Line Family Farm in Wadsworth, Ohio with Representative Max Miller (OH-7).
The Organic Farm Day was planned in partnership with the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) and the Organic Farmers Association (OFA).
Conservation, not Consolidation (Take Action!)
Over the last few weeks, we have been posting an educational ‘Farm Safety Net Fridays’ series on our Instagram page. This has all been leading up to a week of action titled: Conservation, not Consolidation. You may have seen a blog post from us a few weeks back about the farm safety net. In it, we outlined how some folks on Capitol Hill want to use climate-smart agriculture funding to prop up commodity programs.
Some lawmakers in Congress are being pressured to raise commodity program subsidies by $20 to $50 billion. These include the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, which makes payments to commodity farms relative to a price floor, or a “reference price,” fixed in legislation. Just 0.3 percent of farms are projected to benefit most from an increase in PLC reference prices.
Protecting Ohio’s Most Valuable Natural Resource
It is impossible to overstate the importance of what is under our feet. Healthy soil is at the root of healthy water, food, economies, and communities. When taken care of, soil has the potential to store carbon and help mitigate the climate crisis. Yet, even with all that relies on healthy soils, this natural resource is increasingly becoming lost or degraded. The value of soil is simply overlooked and those who do recognize the importance of healthy soils are without the support to preserve them.
There is a need to educate the public on the importance of healthy soils while celebrating this natural resource. That’s why OEFFA and the Ohio Soil Health Initiative (OSHI) are planning an Ohio Soil Health Week—a weeklong celebration that will bring together farmers, community members, organizations, state leaders, and legislators to amplify different voices and share how powerful and important Ohio’s soils are.
Historic Amount of Funding Available for Conservation
Because of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the 2018 Farm Bill, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has nearly $5 billion in funding for conservation practices in 2024. Agricultural producers and forest landowners are encouraged to apply now to receive support for participation in voluntary conservation programs and the adoption of climate-smart practices.
Well suited for a wide variety of producers—including organic and urban producers—USDA is now accepting applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).
Farm Bill Extension Update
On November 16, 2023, President Biden signed a short-term spending bill for the government. But what does this have to do with the farm bill? Well, this also included a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.
Farm bill programs and the USDA will now be able to continue operating until September 30, 2024—exactly one year from when the 2018 bill originally expired. This had to happen because the 2023 Farm Bill was not finished being written, debated on, and budgeted for.
With next year being a big election year, we are hoping that the final farm bill implementation will happen in the springtime. If this does not get moving as soon as the new year comes around, there is a worry that it could get pushed even further.
Farm Bill Deadline and Stranded Programs
Guest blog post by Amanda Hernandez, OEFFA Policy Intern
Earlier this month, the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Glenn “GT” Thompson, announced that Congress will have to temporarily extend the 2018 Farm Bill because it will miss the September 30 deadline for enacting its successor. If you are someone who produces or eats food, this extension is extremely vital.
In brief, the farm bill is a piece of legislation that is renewed every five years and affects our entire food system. It encompasses a variety of programs, from farm subsidies to food assistance. There are two deadlines within the farm bill—the first being September 30, which is the end of the fiscal year (FY), and the second is December 31 which is the end of the crop year. These dates are of high importance because some programs may expire after the FY deadline, while others expire after the crop year.