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PANUPS: U.S. Farm Bill Examined




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May 6, 1996

Some Sustainable Agriculture Victories in 1996 Farm Bill 

After months of uncertainty over the fate of U.S. government 
farm programs, a 1996 Farm Bill was signed into law by 
President Clinton in April. The Federal Agricultural 
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (FAIR) will dramatically 
impact the structure of agriculture across the U.S. The 
General Commodity Provisions of the 1996 Farm Bill maintains 
the "Freedom to Farm" format, with fixed, declining payments 
for the next seven years. U.S. Department of Agriculture will 
enter into contracts for payments on the basis of a farm's 
history in commodity programs; federal support will no longer 
be linked to production. Farmers will have broad flexibility 
to plant on their contract acreage.

The impact of the new legislation on family farmers and the 
environment will be mixed. According to the Campaign for 
Sustainable Agriculture, despite early attempts to gut 
conservation programs, the conservation provisions in general 
are as good as in previous farm bills, and voluntary, 
incentive-based programs have been expanded. The new 
commodity provisions, known as "Freedom to Farm," will 
increase flexibility for farmers who grow designated 
commodity crops, allowing them to plant what they want and 
thereby removing obstacles to crop rotation. However, 
"Freedom to Farm" also severs the link between market prices 
and federal program payments to farmers, and steadily 
decreases payments over the next seven years, both of which 
will make it harder for small family farmers to survive. 

Through the Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, hundreds of 
U.S. organizations worked together to advocate federal 
policies to support family farming, environmental protection 
and a just food system. Although the political climate in 
Congress was very difficult, the Campaign won some remarkable 
victories, thanks to an unprecedented and powerful 
combination of widespread grassroots action, coordination 
between regions and constituencies, and behind-the-scenes 
political work.

1996 Farm Bill provisions affecting family farming and 
sustainable agriculture that were supported by the Campaign 
for Sustainable Agriculture include: 

* Fund for Rural America -- provides $100 million a year for 
three years for research projects and rural development, 
including farmworker housing, value added enterprises and 
marketing, and water and sewer projects. 

* Farmland Preservation -- the Farmland Protection Fund 
provides $35 million in federal matching funds to qualified 
state or local farmland protection programs. 

* Environmental Quality Incentives Program -- combines 
several conservation programs into a more comprehensive and 
streamlined program. It includes a program to reduce 
pollution from livestock operations with language prohibiting 
cost-share assistance to "Large Confined Livestock 
Operations."

* Community Food Security -- this demonstration program 
provides $2.5 million per year for matching grants for local 
food and agriculture projects in low-income communities.  

The 1996 Farm Bill is currently on a fast track for 
implementation. The Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture is 
working to help shape implementation of the bill to promote 
family farming and environmental stewardship.

Contacts/Sources: Kai Siedenburg, California SAWG, P.O. Box 
1599, Santa Cruz, CA 95061; phone (408) 457-2815; fax 457-
0133; email casawg@igc.apc.org; The Campaign for Sustainable 
Agriculture, 12 N. Church St., Goshen NY 10924; phone (914) 
294-0633; fax (914) 294-0632.

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