Farmers Push Farm Bill Reform During D.C. Trip

Midwestern Farmers from the Campaign for Family Farms & the Environment Meet with the Offices of New U.S. House and Senate Ag. Committee Chairs

CONTACT: Adam Warthesen, LSP, 612-722-6377
Bill Gorman, 651-258-4127
Alison & Jim Deutsch, 507-273-9897
John Schmidt, 320-668-2466

PHOTO AVAILABLE: For a digital photo of the Minnesota farmers in Washington, D.C., contact Adam Warthesen at 612-722-6377 or adamw@landstewardshipproject.org

12/7/06
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Land Stewardship Project (LSP) farmer-members last week joined a coalition of farmers from across the Midwest in calling for federal farm policy reform during a trip to Washington, D.C. The coalition of farmers talked to policymakers about the upcoming 2007 Farm Bill and the need for initiatives that support new and beginning farmers, local and regional food systems and conservation on working farmland. 

“The most interesting meetings were with the offices of the new Congressional ag chairs—Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson and Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa,” said organic dairy farmer Bill Gorman of Goodhue, Minn. “In those meetings we talked about the importance of a bigger Conservation Security Program, ideas to help new and beginning farmers and commodity reform proposals.”

The LSP members were in Washington as part of a delegation of 16 farmers and leaders from a coalition of Midwestern farm groups representing the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment.  During a three-day period, the farmers from Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri held over 30 meetings with Congressional offices and national organizations.

The delegation focused on further development and expansion of the Conservation Security Program (CSP), which rewards farmers for utilizing good stewardship methods. The farmers also focused on how Congress can reform commodity programs so they work better for farmers and cost less. In addition, farmers talked about the need for a Beginning Farmer Act, which would include policies to help beginning farmers by providing support for mentoring and training programs, access to lending and savings opportunities, and incentives for new farmers to utilize conservation programs.

“As new farmers getting started on the land, we’ve run into numerous barriers trying to access capital for our farm,” said Alison Deutsch, who, along with her husband Jim, participated in the trip to Washington. They graduated from LSP’s Farm Beginnings™ Program in 2006 and they currently farm near Preston, Minn. “Enacting a Beginning Farmer Act that includes support for mentoring programs and lending options could really help individuals looking to get started.”

The delegation also supported a “New Farm Initiative” to optimize development of farms and farm-based business that grow and market to local and regional communities. Priorities for this initiative include an expanded Farmers’ Market Promotion Program, improving the Value-Added Producer Grant Program, and increasing the size and scope of the Farm to Cafeteria Program.

“In all the meetings we attended, there was a strong consensus that a new Farm Bill will be written in 2007,” said John Schmidt, who also participated in the trip to Washington. Schmidt, a graduate of LSP’s Farm Beginnings™ program, raises beef near Marietta, Minn., and is looking to start dairying. “We have a real opportunity to push for reforms that revitalize agriculture by getting new people started farming and making a living in rural America while protecting the long-term viability of our land.”

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