Comments Aimee Witteman has made

  • CRP Transition Program

    Hi Matt,
    Great point about the pressures to sensitive agricultural land - one of the many challenges associated with rising commodity prices.  The USDA has yet to announce their intentions, but several groups, including the one that I work for (www.sustainableagriculturecoalition.org) sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Schafer last week, encouraging him not to cave into pressures to allow penalty-free early releases of Conservation Reserve Program land.
    Even if USDA does not allow early-outs, millions of acres worth of CRP contracts expire in the next few years.  With high commodities prices, it is likely that many producers will not renew or extend their contracts.  To ensure the land going back into production is managed as sustainably as  possible, advocates successfully got a provision in the new farm bill that provides incentives for landowners to lease newly-expired CRP land to beginning farmers and ranchers who have  plans for conservation and land improvements.  The intent is to preserve the conservation value while fostering new farming opportunities.      On The farm bill is over, so what happens next? posted 1 year, 4 months ago 3 Responses

  • Help for Beginning Farmers in New Farm Bill

    Thanks for the great post, Zoe.  

    An observation and then some info at the bottom about new programs in the farm bill that can help beginning farmers.

    The inverted pyramid is even more precarious: the number of farmers in the U.S. is actually about 1 million less than the statistic you stated. Beyond the ability of a shrinking number of fossil fuel-dependent farms to feed a growing population, there is also the incredibly negative impact that land and farm concentration have on rural communities (plenty of sociological and economic documentation to back this up - see Goldschmidt Hyopthesis).

    Ok - some good news about the farm bill.  Despite the many problems that the 2008 farm bill will continue to perpetuate, a couple of the 'bright spots' are new programs that address the challenges facing beginning farmers, including access-to-land:

    • there is a new Individual Development Account program that will be available in 15 states (the states haven't been chosen yet: contact your representative to get your state in line). The program uses financial training and matched savings accounts to assist those of modest means to establish savings.  The savings in the account can be used toward capital expenditures for a farm or ranch, including the expenses associated with purchasing land, buildings, equipment, or livestock, or toward training.  CA and MI have had pilot IDA programs that have been very successful at helping new farmers purchase land.  
    • there is a beginning farmer contract land sales program that provides a new permanent, nationwide authority for federal guarantees on private land contract sales from retiring to beginning farmers and ranchers.
    • there are changes to the beginning farmer and rancher down payment loan program with lower interest rates, better lending terms, and higher maximum purchase price on first-time land purchases.  
    A bunch more is in there - check out www.sustainableagriculturecoalition.org for more info.  We need to get the word out to aspiring new farmers that there is some (modest) assistance for them in the new farm bill.
          On Much depends on finding a new generation to put dinner on the table posted 1 year, 6 months ago 10 Responses

  • true dat

    Amen, Tom.  Thanks for posting a great response to the NYT article (and filling in some missed details about the featured farmers).  I tried to get the following LTE printed in the NYT but to no avail.

    Allen Salkin's article "Leaving Behind the Trucker Hat" uncovers the exciting new trend of young post-urbanites pursuing niche market farming, but in focusing narrowly on one demographic and region of the country ignores a much more complex and interesting story taking place in agriculture.  

    Salkin's article neglects to show that despite the growing demand for organic and locally-produced foods, many would-be farmers are still impeded by expensive land and a lack of access to loans, credit, and technical assistance.  We have a chance to fund programs in the next Farm Bill that can ensure that all budding agrarians, whether young or second-career, new immigrant, rural or urban, can afford to farm and become the future of agriculture.  Only by ensuring access for all can farming be a trend that is not fleeting.  On The NYT hails the era of the hipster farmer posted 1 year, 8 months ago 9 Responses

  • UFCW announces support for the packer ban

    In an important, related develpment to Tom's post, the United Food and Commerical Workers International Union announced today that they are endorsing the ban on packer ownership of livestock.  In their press release and full page ad run in Roll Call (a publication circulated on Captiol Hill), the Union stated that when packers own livestock the companies can move livestock and production to wherever they can find the cheapest land and labor.  

    UFCW's support for the packer ban is a huge development - important in terms of securing enough votes during the Senate's consideration of the farm bill and in highlighting the impact of market concentration on meatpacking workers.  On Don't let Big Meat slaughter the packer ban posted 2 years ago 9 Responses

  • you go, goldengirl

    Absolutely. It's challenging to pick apart how different farm bill programs work, what you should support, and who you should listen to.  It's even tough to 'arm yourself with the facts' when groups have various lenses through which they analyze the same program/topic.  It's particularly important that farmers like yourself provide input into the process and speak truth to power - it's what keeps things grounded - quite literally in some cases.        On Good farm policies support good farm practices posted 2 years, 1 month ago 5 Responses

  • what Americans are getting

    Thanks for bringing up organic matter, Peter.  
    CSP actually includes a performance standard for soil quality that focuses on organic content in the soil (this is currently measured by the Soil Quality Index, but we are working with researchers to develop a better tool).  Additionally, the organization I work for (the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition) along with the Organic Farming Research Foundation and others, are working to make CSP in the next farm bill more accessible to organic farmers who recognize the importance of organic content in their soil.  

    I would like to point out two studies that have analyzed CSP's impact.  One (www.sustainableagriculturecoalition.org/pdf/CSPWildlifeReport.pdf) concludes that CSP has resulted in substantial wildlife benefits through pesticide reduction and the creation of actual wildlife habitat on the farm (e.g. converting introduced plant species to native species to benefit wildlife, or buffer strips installed between crop fields that protect streams from nutrient runoff but also provide cover for birds).  The other study (www.mnproject.org/csp/CSP_Report_web_April_19,_2007.pdf) demonstrates how CSP has encouraged farmers to adopt new conservation practices (a stated goal of the program).  

    One thing to keep in mind is that there is no silver bullet.  CSP, like all programs, is not a sufficient fix in and of itself.  We need a menu of programs - SAC's policy platform is seventy-five pages of existing farm bill programs as well as new ideas that can help promote a more sustainable agricultural system: (http://www.sustainableagriculturecoalition.org/key-farmbi ...).   On Good farm policies support good farm practices posted 2 years, 1 month ago 5 Responses

  • We Need Good Public Policy

    Thanks for the post, Tom.  I know of many a sustainable aggie (myself included) who have taken exception with Ken Cook's characterization of farmers and farm policy.  Commodity payments need to be reformed so that they are more equitable, but don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Farmers are not living high off the hog and readers sifting through the EWG database should not get the wrong impression that the government needs to end support for farmers altogether.

    There is a place for good public policy and there are several programs being considered in the next Farm Bill that can help foster the long-term health of our communities, landscapes, and rural economies.  Among them, good public policy promotes land stewardship (through programs like the Conservation Security Program), sustainable agriculture research (through programs like SARE), the next generation of growers (Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program), and local/regional markets (Value-Added Producer Grant, Farmers Market Promotion Program, Community Food Projects).  
    Finally, there also needs to be a comprehensive Competition Title.    
    The Farm Bill debate is in full swing - these and other programs need our support now.  
    On Don't blame farmers for the farm-subsidy mess posted 2 years, 5 months ago 21 Responses