Statement of Support for a Full and Fair Farm Bill

The Community Alliance for Global Justice signed on to this letter through our membership in the National Family Farm Coalition, and joined 138 allied organizations to call for a fairer food & farm bill with the following statement. It’s also a great breakdown of what happened as the 2008 Farm Bill expired at the end of 2012!

This Letter was sent on Behalf of the Undersigned Groups.
For more information contact Lorette Picciano, Rural Coalition at [email protected] or 202-628-7160; Katherine Ozer, National Family Farm Coalition at [email protected] or 202-543-5675.

January 7, 2013

Statement of Support for a Full and Fair Farm Bill

We, the undersigned, worked diligently and in good faith with the Senate and House Agriculture Committees to complete the 2012 Farm Bill in regular order. When that did not occur, the Committees jointly developed a plan for a one-year extension that, while flawed, had many merits. Like the Agriculture Committee leaders and members, we were shocked to learn that this agreement had been replaced by a biased extension that also disappointed the farmers, fishers, ranchers, Tribal Nations, farmworkers, and rural and urban communities we represent.

Direct payments were continued at the full 2008 levels – despite agreements to reduce them – while disaster response support for producers who have suffered up to three years of extreme drought and heat was eliminated.

In the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills, Congress gradually adopted a set of programs to build the foundation for a new food system. This emerging food system, a small but growing portion of overall US Farm and Food Policy, has the potential to enhance equity for our nation’s diverse producers and farmworkers, secure a future in agriculture for new entry farmers and rural, urban and tribal communities, and provide fresh, local food for all consumers.

The Agriculture Committees’ December 31 agreement continued 2013 support for these critical programs, which ranged from Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers to Beginning Farmer Development, Rural Development, Specialty Crop, Organic and Urban Agriculture, and others, including a deep surprise cut in the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance) education program. All of this funding was zeroed out as the Farm Bill extension was attached to the fiscal cliff bill that has now become law.

We thank the Agriculture Committee leadership and members for their efforts to achieve balance. Beginning immediately, we pledge to work with the incoming Agriculture Committees to complete a full and fair Farm Bill that mitigates disasters, protects natural resources, provides equity and inclusion, constructs a new and economically viable future for agriculture and rural communities, and assures healthy food for all consumers.

21st Century Youth Leadership Movement Eutaw AL
4th Street Farms Columbus OH
Agricultural Missions New York NY
AgriForaging Margaretville NY
Alianza Nacional de Campesinas Oxnard, CA
America The Beautiful Fund Washington DC
American Federation of Government Employees Local 3354 St. Louis MO
American Friends Service Committee Anthony NM
American Indian Mothers Inc. Shannon NC
American Sustainable Business Council Washington DC
Arkansas Land and Farm Development Coorporation Brinkley AR
Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake Counties Farmers Union Windsor OH
Atrium Healthy Homes Worcester MA
Black Family Land Trust, Inc Durham NC
Blue Sky Produce Phillips ME
Brooklyn Food Coalition Brooklyn NY
CAMP Las Cruces NM
Campesinos Sin Fronteras Somerton AZ
Cedarville Band of the Piscataway Indians, Inc. Waldorf MD
Center for Social Sustainable Systems Albuquerque NM
Charles Melvin Creecy (CMC) Cooperatives Ahoskie NC
Claudia de Leon Silver Spring MD
Colo Hispanic Ranchers Antonito CO
Community Alliance for Global Justice Seattle WA
Community Food and Justice Coalition Oakland CA
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture South Deerfield MA
Cultivating Community Portland ME
Dakota Rural Action Brookings SD
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability Milanville PA
Down to Earth Markets Ossining NY
Dumbarton UMC Washington DC
Eat City Heights San Diego CA
ECO City Farms Riverdale MD
Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage Cincinnati OH
Fair World Project Portland OR
Farmers on the Move Battle Creek MI
Farm to Table Food Services Oakland CA
Farmworker Association of Florida, Inc. Apopka FL
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund Epes AL
Fernandez Ranch Centerville WA
Florida Certified Organic Growers & Consumers, Inc ( FOG) Gainesville FL
Food & Water Watch Washington DC
Food Democracy Now! Clear Lake IA
Food Field Detroit MI
Gardens of Hope Tiptonville TN
GoingGreenie Ridgefield CT
Good Eaters San Diego CA
Growing Hope Ypsilanti MI
Healthy Farms Healthy People Coalition Washington DC
Hmong National Development, Inc. Washington DC
Hoosac Harvest N Adams MA
Hungry Hollow Co-op Chestnut Ridge NY
Independent Farmer Hyattsville MD
Indian Nations Conservation Alliance Twin Bridges MT
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Minneapolis MN
Institute for Community Engagement Las Cruces NM
Intertribal Agriculture Council Billings MT
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future Baltimore MD
Karuna Wolf Farm Staatsburg NY
Kikandwa Environmental Association Kampala Mityan
KN Brooklyn NY
La Semilla Food Center Anthony NM
Land For Good Keene NH
Land Stewardship Project Minneapolis MN
Live Real Oakland CA
Local Matters Columbus OH
Local to Global Advocates for Justice Kansas City KS
Los Jardines Institute Albuquerque NM
Lower Shore Land Trust Berlin MD
MARP Brooklyn NY
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute East Troy WI
Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service Spring Valley WI
Millett & Associates Chicago IL
Missouri Rural Crisis Center Columbia MO
Mountain View Farm Margaretville NY
National Family Farm Coalition Washington DC
National Hmong American Farmers, Inc Fresno CA
National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association Washington DC
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Washington DC
National Women in Agriculture Association Oklahoma City OK
National Young Farmers Coalition Tivoli NY
Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society Ceresco NE
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project Lowell MA
New Orleans Food & Farm Network New Orleans LA
New Roots for Refugees Kansas City KS
NIFI El Paso TX
North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project, Inc Durham NC
Northeast Organic Dairy producers Alliance Deerfield MA
Northeast Pasture Consortium Greensboro NC
Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG) New Paltz NY
Northern New Mexico Stockman’s Association Taos NM
Northwest Farm Bill Action Group Seattle WA
Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association Columbus OH
Ohio Family Farm Organization Ft. Jennings OH
Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project, Inc. Oklahoma City OK
Operation Spring Plant Oxford NC
Oregon Tilth Corvallis OR
Organic Consumers Association Finland MN
Organizacion en California de Lideres Campesinas Oxnard CA
Planting Justice Oakland CA
Prairie Drifter Farm Litchfield MN
Project SOY Inglewood CA
Rio Grande Community Development  Corporation Albuquerque NM
Rooted In Community Berkeley CA
Rural Advancement Fund Orangeburg SC
Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural Washington DC
Rural Development Leadership Network New York NY
School Food FOCUS National Office New York NY
SEED Committee Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield Holyoke MA
Seeds of Solidarity Orange MA
Shoreline Study Center Encinitas CA
Simple Gifts Farm Amherst MA
Slow Food West Michigan Belmont MI
South Valley Regional Association of Acequias Albuquerque NM
Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Fayetteville AR
Spring Creek Farm Baldwin City KS
Springfield Community Garden Family Fit Center Springfield IL
Ted Chapman Landscape Design Newton MA
Texas Mexico Border Coalition CBO San Isidro TX
The Alliance Community Garden Houston TX
The Alliance For Multicultural Community Services Houston TX
The Center for Social Inclusion New York NY
Tilth Producers of Washington Seattle WA
Town of Atrisco Grant Merced Atrisco NM
Transition Westfield Westfield MA
Tufts University Boston MA
Twins River Cooperative Ahoskie NC
UC Davis Davis CA
United Farmers USA Manning SC
United with Migrants, Inc. Westminster CL
Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College Los Angles CA
Urban Gleaners Portland OR
Valley Green Feast Holyoke MA
Virginia Association for Biological Farming Lexington VA
WhyHunger New York NY
Winston County Self Help Cooperative Louisville MS
World Farmers Inc Lancaster MA
Yellow Brick Farm Louisburg KS
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