NCFC Position:
A strong farm bill supports our farmers and ranchers, feeds our nation and those who have fallen on tough times, protects our vital natural resources, and brings both urban cities and rural communities together. This effective collaboration is critical to the success of the farm bill. NCFC calls on Congress to promote, protect, and strengthen these longstanding farm bill tenets.
Action:
As was the case with the 2018 farm bill, the current farm bill debate is facing the challenge of being fiscally responsible. Farmer co-ops are mindful of this challenge. At the same time, Congress must recognize the continued importance of farm bill policies that promote a healthy and competitive U.S. agricultural sector. Our farmer-owners need a responsive safety net, together with adequate funding, that incorporates improved, comprehensive risk management tools and programs for producers and their cooperatives.
Public policy should also continue to protect and strengthen the ability of farmers and ranchers to join in cooperative efforts that maintain and promote the economic well-being of farmers, ensure access to competitive markets, and help capitalize on market opportunities like value-added processing to meet changing consumer demand. By pooling the buying power of hundreds or thousands of individual producers, farmer cooperatives can supply their members—at a competitive price—with nearly every input necessary to run a successful farming operation, including access to a dependable source of credit.
Farmer cooperatives have been at the forefront of proactive work to improve the environment in the communities they serve. We support science-based, achievable, and affordable environmental policies and initiatives. From pest management to nutrient management, from developing cutting-edge technologies to implementing area-wide conservation practices, farmer cooperatives have the expertise and credibility to serve as the best source for information regarding production practices.
Our members are ready to expand public-private partnership opportunities to improve the deliverability of conservation programs, and we applaud the introduction of S. 1400/H.R. 3036, the Increased TSP Access Act of 2023, by Sens. Braun and Bennet and Reps. Baird and Spanberger. NCFC supports instructing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase utilization of third-party Technical Service Providers (TSPs) to ensure better technical assistance to producers. Specifically, NCFC recommends streamlining the TSP certification process, including certified crop advisors, and cooperative-based staff and scientists.
It is more important now than ever that farmers and their cooperatives have the most innovative tools to tackle their climate goals. This is why NCFC celebrates the introduction of S.4056, the Enteric Methane Innovation Tools for Lower Emissions and Sustainable Stock (EMIT LESS) Act of 2023, by Sens. Bennet, Crapo, Baldwin, and Moran. The Emit Less Act would increase USDA research on enteric methane feed products and provide financial incentives for producers who use these products in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).
Additionally, trade is vital to the continued prosperity of co-ops and their farmer and rancher members—with over 95 percent of the world’s population living outside of the United States, our agricultural producers need foreign markets to grow demand and the programs that serve as catalysts to increased market access. We call on Congress to include S. 176, Expanding Agricultural Exports Act of 2023, introduced by Sen. Angus King, and its House companion, H.R. 648, Agriculture Export Promotion Act of 2023, introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse, in the farm bill. This legislation would double funding for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program.
NCFC supports the strengthening and enforcement of the Buy American requirements in the school meals programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Specifically, we encourage the Senate to include Buy American language similar to the provision included in Chairman Thompson’s Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 limiting the amount of foreign-sourced food to five percent per school year. Additionally, NCFC encourages USDA’s food and nutrition programs to provide all forms of fruits, vegetables, and nuts as outlined in the 2020 Dietary Guidelines. Finally, NCFC supports USDA food and nutrition programs, including Section 32 and commodity purchase programs, together with needed funding, to help achieve their important objectives.
We also call on Congress to ensure farmer cooperatives are eligible to leverage federal programs for the benefit of their farmer members. This includes preserving the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program in its current form and expanding eligibility for farmer-owned cooperatives to participate in the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
While a farm bill is vital to the success and viability of rural America, there are numerous critical issues facing production agriculture that must also be addressed by Congress, including the unprecedented labor shortage. Our national security is tied to our ability to feed ourselves, and that security is currently under threat due to the labor crisis facing the agricultural industry. Congress must act now to provide much-needed reform to our current agricultural guest worker system.
Current Status:
The approval of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 by the House Agriculture Committee represents a necessary step towards passing a new farm bill by the end of this year. NCFC and its members applauded Chairman Thompson for his leadership in moving this bill forward.
The Senate has released a detailed section-by-section incorporating marker bills from senators on and off the committee. The compilation has been described as a discussion document to reignite the negotiations.
We look forward to working with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to build the bipartisan support needed to see a farm bill passed and signed into law.
