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As Congress works to address the federal deficit, farm support programs are dominating farm bill discussions. Final decisions made will affect farmland values and farm viability, both critical components in efforts to protect farm and ranch land. The farm bill influences not only how farms stay in business and how farmland is protected but also Continue reading A Time for Reform: The Right Role for Government in Farm Risk Management Direct subsidies in the farm bill On Thursday night, the Senate passed an amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) to prohibit subsidy payments to farmers with an average annual income exceeding $1 million. Though only proposed for the short-term, this decision highlights the continued discussion on what form subsidies may take in the next Continue reading Farm and Food News 10/21/11 The deficit reduction roadmap laid out by President Obama this week was a stark reminder of the far-ranging effects of our nation’s debt problems. In addressing the reality of the budget situation, we have long recognized that agriculture must join the ranks and contribute its fair share. The Obama administration’s five-part plan for agriculture, however, is Continue reading A Checkbook Imbalance: Disproportionate Cuts to Agriculture Under President Obama’s Plan This post was originally featured on AgriPulse.com as part of an on-going series of opinion pieces. Since becoming President of the American Farmland Trust, I have been asked many times why an organization that promotes the protection and conservation of farm and ranch land cares about the safety net in the farm bill. The answer to me Continue reading What’s the Safety Net Got to Do with It? The farm bill provides a significant opportunity to influence agricultural activity: what is grown, where, when and how, and who benefits from this production. In this sense, it influences each individual everyday: from the cost and availability of food to the tools that exist for your community to protect farm and ranch land. U.S. lawmakers are Continue reading Gearing Up for the 2012 Farm Bill A Sound Course Would Say: Conserve as much of the Peripheral Farmlands as a Region Can Protecting farmland from urban sprawl and fostering food cultivation in urban settings has reached another benchmark with the commencement of Former Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco’s first full-scale urban agriculture program in America. This urban agriculture program materialized Continue reading Farm and Food News 2/4/11 The 2008 Farm Bill featured the creation of the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program. American Farmland Trust guided its development in conjunction with agricultural economist Dr. Carl Zulauf, who was the chief economic designer and modeler of this innovative risk management tool for farmers. In this guest blog post, Dr. Zulauf reflects on the Continue reading Farm Programs That Fit the Times Last month, Chris Clayton wrote about the Average Crop Revenue Election program, quoting former USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins, who now represents the crop insurance and rice industries as a consultant. Since American Farmland Trust (AFT) was one of the chief supporters of ACRE during the last farm bill I thought a few words to set Continue reading ACRE a Better Way to Support Agriculture Building a smarter farm safety net that better serves farmers was the cornerstone of American Farmland Trust’s farm policy efforts during the 2008 Farm Bill. We are happy to see even more and more farmers join the call early in the 2012 Farm Bill process for revenue-based programs like AFT’s ACRE. The Iowa Farm Bureau Continue reading A Farm Safety Net Typically farm bills set U.S. agriculture and food policy for five to ten year periods. And ever since the most recent bill was signed in 2008, AFT has been working to help finalize the details of its’ implementation. So in between farm bills, you sometimes think the next one is a long way over the horizon. Continue reading Did Somebody Say Farm Bill? |
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