Natasha Blakely, natasha.blakely@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Stabenow and House Agriculture Committee Republicans introduced competing bill and framework respectively for the latest Farm Bill, the comprehensive legislative package that will set agricultural, food, and nutrition policy for the next five years. The last Farm Bill was meant to expire in September 2023, but Congress extended the deadline for a year.
The legislation put forth by Chair Stabenow includes important provisions and funding for climate-smart agriculture and forestry. It aims to achieve the success of the 2018 Farm Bill, which Sierra Club endorsed, by compiling more than 100 bipartisan bills into a single popular package. Sierra Club urges the House to take up this version of the bill, which includes our following priorities:
- Protects the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) investments of $20 billion for agriculture and conservation technical assistance programs, and $9.7 billion for rural clean energy programs.
- Supports local, small-scale producers and food systems which are facing a decline and loss of farmland, instead of subsidizing the expansion of large agribusinesses
- Maintains SNAP funding and access, which builds healthier communities and supports local economies
- Elevates Urban and Community Forestry to an Office within the USFS, which would help prioritize programs to plant more trees in urban areas, providing clean air and heat mitigation, and closing the nature equity gap
- Protects public lands by including a bipartisan package of wilderness designations and other lands protection bills, including the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act, the Benjamin Harrison National Recreation Area and Wilderness Establishment Act, the Flatside Wilderness Additions Act, and protections for the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois
- Promotes climate-resilient agriculture by expanding the reach of popular oversubscribed and underfunded USDA conservation programs and supporting independent farmers making the transition to sustainable agricultural practices
- Does not include any additional categorical exclusions for the US Forest Service, which will undercut our bedrock environmental laws such as NEPA and the ESA
In response, Sierra Club Lands Protection Program Director Athan Manuel released the following statement:
“Senator Stabenow has released a Farm Bill that will promote climate-smart farming, expand nutrition programs, and protect our environment, and we hope to see the House pass the Senate version of the bill. The Farm Bill will have a huge impact not only on farming and what it will look like for at least the next five years, but also food access, forestry, land and water pollution, and our climate.
"We need Congress to pass a forward-looking bill that prioritizes family-sustaining jobs, small and mid-sized farmers, local food systems, and healthy communities without further delay, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Stabenow’s framework will do just that. With unprecedented investments into Farm Bill programs through the Inflation Reduction Act to fight climate change and improve the health of our rural landscape, the Farm Bill can make a real difference in people’s lives by investing taxpayer money back into the public.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.