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PANUPS: U.S. Farm Bill Examined
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P A N U P S
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Pesticide Action Network
North America
Updates Service
http://www.panna.org/panna/
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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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