Farm Bill Now

Click here to view who has signed on to the Discharge Petition. 

If your Representative has already signed on, please send a thank you.  If your Representative has not yet signed, please send a note urging them to join the Discharge Petition.  Use some of the talking points below or include your own views on why we need a full five-year farm bill.  Be sure to use your own words. 

Why New England Needs a Farm Bill NOW

New England farmers need the certainty of a five-year farm bill.  Programs that support the development of local and regional food systems, beginning farmers, energy conservation, and our dairy farmers will all expire on September 30th unless the farm bill is reauthorized.

A short-term extension of the 2008 farm bill will be a costly and ineffective response to our nation’s drought and the long-term needs of our producers.  It is likely that conservation program funds would be raided to pay for a short-term extension. That would be a disaster for New England.  Conservation programs are second only to nutrition in terms of farm bill dollars coming to our region.

This may be the best farm bill yet for for New England.  Provisions in the House Agriculture Committee bill and the bill passed by the Senate will bring new resources to support local and regional food markets, farm based value added processing, measures to expand access to farmers markets and CSAs for low income consumers and implement historic reforms to dairy support.  Both bills provide comprehensive drought assistance for farmers.

The farm bill process must move forward. The bill passed by the House Agriculture Committee should be brought to the floor, debated, amended and passed to allow both houses to begin conferencing the two bills.