A Dozen Fresh Ideas for Farm and Food Policy

America's policies could do more to help farmers--and the environment.

America's farmers, ranchers and forest landowners produce an extraordinary bounty of food, energy and fiber—as well clean air, clean water and habitat for wildlife. But, farm and food policies could do much more to meet the needs of farmers, consumers and communities.

Despite record farm sales, many farmers, ranchers and family forest owners are struggling to stay profitable. Rural communities remain among the most impoverished in the nation. Many consumers lack affordable and healthy food choices, contributing to soaring health care costs. Our farm policies violate international trade agreements, inviting retaliatory tariffs on everything from fruit to pharmaceuticals. Many of the nation’s most pressing energy and environmental challenges are left unmet because USDA rejects thousands of farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who offer to help the environment or develop new energy sources.

As we renew America’s farm and food policies, we propose a dozen fresh ideas:

1. Help More Farmers and Rural Communities

   Farm and food policies should meet the needs of more farmers, consumers and communities. Today, the largest producers of five major row crops collect the lion’s share of federal farm spending and eight states collect more than half of all farm spending.

2. Reward — Don't Reject — Good Stewards

   Farm and food policies should dramatically increase incentives to improve the stewardship of working lands so that all of us share the cost of clean water, air and wildlife habitat. More than 50,000 farmers are annually rejected when they seek conservation assistance—or three out of four eligible applicants—because of misplaced federal spending priorities.

3. Invest in Renewable Energy with Environmental Benefits

   Farm and food policies should expand and target funds for the development of wind, solar, and other sources of renewable energy on agricultural lands that also meet other environmental challenges.

4. Reward Economic Innovation, Don't Create Dependence

   Farm and food policies should reward economic innovation—rather than promote economic dependence—by creating a system of farm and ranch accounts that would help producers weather the ups and downs of agriculture, invest in value-adding rural enterprises, and plan for the future.

5. Reward Rising Levels of Stewardship

   Farm and food policies should do more to reward higher levels of environmental stewardship by linking income support to environmental performance and making the innovative new Conservation Security Program available to more farmers.

6. Help Farmers Get Ready For a Carbon Cap

   Farm and food policies should create opportunities for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to help meet America’s future greenhouse gas emission targets by expanding initiatives to measure and reduce emissions and to sequester carbon in the soil.

7. Help Farmers Make the Transition to Organic

   Farm and food policies should help farmers make the transition to organic food and fiber production to boost farm profitability, provide healthier food choices, and help the environment.

8. Target Land Retirement and Restoration Efforts

   Farm and food policies should accelerate efforts to restore lost wetlands, floodplains and grasslands by focusing land retirement programs on environmentally sensitive lands.

9. Protect 10 Million Acres from Sprawl

   Farm and food policies should provide sufficient funds to protect at least 10 million acres of farm, ranch and forest land from sprawl. At present, America loses one acre of farmland to development every 30 seconds.

10. Promote Cooperative Conservation Projects

    Farm and food policies should promote “cooperative conservation” agreements that support farmers who work together to meet pressing local environmental challenges.

11. Promote Healthy Food Choices

    Farm and food policies should expand programs that provide consumers, especially our school children, with healthier food choices. In particular, policymakers should expand farmers markets, farmer-to-school initiatives, and other efforts to link consumers, businesses and institutions with local farmers.

12. Cultivate a New Generation of Stewards

    Farm and food policies should dramatically expand programs that provide grants and loans to help new farmers and ranchers—especially farm workers making the transition to farm owners and operators—develop the expertise to meet high levels of environmental performance.

Renewal of federal farm and food programs in 2007 creates a rare opportunity to boost the profitability of many more farmers and communities, provide consumers with more food and energy choices, and reward farmers when they take steps to help meet the nation’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Posted: 27-Jul-2007; Updated: 14-Oct-2008