The 2023 Farm Bill
Editor’s Note: This article is condensed from a longer article, “Beyond Business as Usual” from Food Solutions New England. To read the full article with links to several organizations and proposals for the 2023 Farm Bill, click here.
Approximately every five years, Congress passes the Farm Bill, an omnibus spending bill that sets food and agriculture policy for the United States. The Farm Bill identifies where to spend public money based on a set of priorities. An extensive process of congressional proposal and debate leads to a comprehensive set of policies that cover everything from federal food programs to rural development and broadband access.
To date, public spending has incentivized the large-scale production system prevalent in this country. Lacking antitrust enforcement, the interests of large, corporate agribusiness are prioritized over the interests of community producers, and regulatory exemptions for pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have led to an industrial agriculture system that is increasingly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. To shape a fair, equitable, and ecologically sound U.S. food system, aspirational policy is needed to move the 2023 legislative process toward a more desirable result.
Farmers, and climate and food systems activists alike, are motivated by a sense of urgency to enact comprehensive reforms to mitigate the impacts of climate change and build a future steeped in climate resilience.
We need public support and investment in Farm Bill policy solutions that will move us away from false solutions—short-term policies that protect the corporate bottom line, drive overproduction and low farm incomes, and ignore climate change—and turn us toward a new policy direction that prioritizes climate resilience and frontline communities.
Numerous national farming and food coalitions are advocating for climate resilience in the 2023 Farm Bill. They focus on soil health and racial equity in pursuit of a just transition to local and regional food systems.
The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) promotes a just transition “for farmers who have been coerced into the chemical-GMO-CAFO treadmill.” NOFA supports investments in agroecological practices as a core solution to the climate crisis. Incentives to assist farmers in beginning the transition to agroecological systems would further bolster local and regional markets, building resilience along the food supply chain.
Advocates for racial equity seek to address historic inequities in agriculture by promoting equal access to resources, programs, and opportunities. They focus on loans, technical assistance, and USDA programs for historically underserved farmers, including Black, Indigenous, and other minority communities. They support facilitating land acquisition and tenure for minority farmers through grants, land trusts, and farm succession planning.
HEAL Food Alliance offers as priorities:
securing dignity and fairness for food chain workers;
providing opportunities for all producers;
investing in communities, not corporations;
nourishing people; and
ensuring the survival of ecosystems and our planet.
The National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA) advocates for these priorities in the Farm Bill:
improving opportunities for start-up and expansion of local & self-reliant Black food economies;
investing in Black food sovereignty in an emerging Black food movement;
including climate regenerative practices and programs as priorities; and
increasing access to food assistance for Black & Brown communities who face crises of hunger and malnutrition.
The Young Farmer Agenda of the National Young Farmers Coalition centers access to land and capital, farmer health and well-being, changes to business and market opportunities, and housing security, in their aim to advance a One Million Acres for the Future campaign. They identify adjacent issues that need to be addressed, such as eliminating student debt, identifying housing solutions, providing access to comprehensive health care, and agricultural labor and immigration reform.
They indicate that these reforms should include a path to citizenship for undocumented farmworkers, food chain workers, and their families; improved labor protections for all farm and food workers; and more effective reporting and enforcement standards regarding violations of labor and human rights.
The Union of Concerned Scientists’ “A Food and Farm Bill for Everyone” supports shifting over “$1 trillion in spending away from industrial agriculture and corporate welfare” to “protect the things that are truly important for the largest number of people.” Soil health and racial equity are front and center in their platform.
The Policy Recommendations of the Family Farm Action Alliance are:
curbing globalized concentration;
anti-racist food and farm policy;
prioritizing resilience over efficiency;
redefining the status quo; and
supporting local and regional food systems.
The proposed policy recommendations to the 117th Congress includes fixing subsidies and insurance for commodity farms; bringing accountability to environmental conservation; improving global food assistance; expanding access to nutritious foods for all Americans; building a future for American farmers; getting serious about food waste; prioritizing climate in agriculture research; treating animals with respect; and recognizing that our country is only as strong as our regional food networks.
These 2023 Farm Bill priorities align with broader societal goals of sustainability and inclusivity and reflect a comprehensive approach to addressing climate resilience, soil health, and racial equity in food and agriculture.
As the Farm Bill continues to evolve, it is essential to monitor legislative developments and engage in discussions that shape the future of American food and agriculture.
Join the movement for a stronger, more sustainable future! Together, we can shape the policies that impact our farmers, our environment, and our communities—making a difference in the fields and on our plates. Contact your representatives, attend local meetings, and stay informed. Let’s sow the seeds of change and cultivate a better Farm Bill for a healthier, more resilient future. Take action today!
BIPOC farmers’ voices front and center (literally) at the “Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience” march on Washington, March 7, 2023. Photo image and caption courtesy of Martin Dagoberto Driggs, National Healthy Soils Policy Network Coordinator for California Climate and Agriculture Network, and Policy Advisor for NOFA-MA.
Karen Nordstrom serves as the Policy Program Co-Director for Food Solutions New England, serving as a key liaison to a cross-cutting regional policy initiative that integrates and coordinates activities, insights, strategies, and tactics across the issue areas of food, farms, forests, fisheries, and communities. This work supports the New England Food Vision, the Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities vision, and related efforts.