The Farm Bill for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

The Agricultural Act of 2014 - otherwise known as the Farm Bill - contains news for beginning farmers and ranchers across the country. In total, it invests $444 million into beginning farmer initiatives over the next decade - a 154 percent increase from the 2008 farm bill. These initiatives generally fall under three categories:

1.    Beginning farmer and rancher training programs

2.    Financial assistance

3.   Conservation access and incentives

The following is a brief description of some of the specific initiatives in the Agricultural Act of 2014 that support beginning farmers and ranchers.

1. Beginning farmer and rancher training programs, such as the Building Farmers Training Program offered through CSU Extension, including right here in Chaffee County, are essential to the success of beginning producers. Plenty of passionate and intelligent young farmers adept in growing food are eager to get started; training in business planning, marketing, and financial analysis ensures they have the tools they need to succeed in the long run.

Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program – this program, established by the 2008 farm bill, will be funded at $20 million per year through fiscal year ’18 for a $100 million total, up from $75 million in the 2008 farm bill. This program is the only federal initiative dedicated exclusively to educating beginning, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers. This provision is being hailed as a major success by NSAC and NYFC.

2. Financial Assistance

FSA Microloans – the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Microloan program was codified. The Microloan program is designed to better serve “the unique financial operating needs of beginning, niche and the smallest of family farm operations” (USDA). It does this by making applications to credit more flexible. In its first year, the program made 3,000 loans.

Direct Farm Ownership Loans – access to this FSA program was made more flexible too, expanding the definition of the required 3 years of experience to better reflect current training structures and opportunities for beginning producers.

Down Payment Program – given the ever-increasing price of land, the FSA Down Payment Program raised the amount it will provide for a down payment on land from $500,000 to $667,000. Also, “Retiring farmers may use this program to transfer their land to future generations” (USDA).

o   The above three FSA loan programs aim to increase access to credit with minimal interest rates for beginning farmers who would otherwise have trouble procuring credit from a commercial lender.

      Federal Crop Insurance – changes in this bill will make it easier for beginning farmers to access crop insurance programs by giving them a 10 percent reduction on premiums. Monetarily, this accounts for the largest provision for beginning farmers in the bill at $261 million over ten years.

      Value-Added Producer Grant – the bill makes clear that beginning producers receive priority in this grant program, which allows producers to create new products and expand markets to increase income.

3. Conservation access and incentives – many changes have been made to Conservation programs in this farm bill, primarily to consolidate and streamline its programs.

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) – this new program, which incorporates the existing Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, makes specific previsions to ensure conserved farmland remains in agricultural production, rather than say, be sold to estate buyers. This is language directly from the bill:

The purposes of the program are to… protect the agricultural use and future viability, and related conservation values, of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural use of that land. (Sec. 2301)

      This is in response to the growing trend of land in conservation easement with an associated Agriculture priority being bought by nonagricultural landowners. For more on this trend, see the NYFC’s Conservation 2.0 report here.·      

      Conservation Reserve Program – Transition Incentive Program (CRP-TIP) – funding for this program has been increased from $25 to $33 million. The Conservation Reserve Program pays farmers and ranchers to remove land from production for the duration of a 10-15 year contract, providing a source of income to producers, protecting and restoring environmentally sensitive land, and increasing future productivity on that parcel. The CRP-TIP program provides two more years of CRP payments to farmers whose contracts are expiring if they sell or rent that CRP land to beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers who will use sustainable grazing practices, resource-conserving cropping systems, or transition to organic production.

·         Environmental Quality and Incentives Program (EQIP) – the final bill upholds language in this NRCS-administered program that sets aside funds for beginning farmers and also increases the advanced payment amount from 30 to 50% of a project, such as those in the Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative. 

Click HERE for more information on the Farm Bill

      *written by Guidestone's OSM/VISTA, Gunnar Paulsen
 

Colorado an "Island of Tranquility" in the Realm of Raw Milk

Many of you likely know David Lynch of Cottonwood Creek Dairy, Colorado Grown, and Guidestone fame. But you may not be aware that David is also the President of the Raw Milk Association of Colorado. This organization advocates for the availability of traditional raw milk products and for a high standard of safety in the supply. Last weekend, the organization held its annual gathering. Blogger David Gumpert of The Complete Patient attended the meeting and wrote about it at this link.

From As Controversy Over Raw Milk Swirls About, Colorado Is an Island of Tranquility:

"I attended the annual meeting Saturday of the Raw Milk Association of Colorado, and also gave a talk that traced the state and federal crackdown on raw milk over the last four years across the U.S., and how it relates to proposed federal food safety legislation. Afterwards, a number of Colorado farmers and consumers came up to me and said they never realized the extent of government harassment that’s been going on around the country. “It’s a scary situation,” one attendee told me.

But in Colorado, legislation enacted four years ago that allows distribution of raw milk via herdshare arrangements seems to be working well."

A Response to the National Animal Identification System

By: David Lynch

Very often, focusing on our “local minds” we lose sight of the impact that state or national legislation may have on our personal lives. Take NAIS for example: even as I write this, the National Animal Identification System is a new regulatory process being implemented by the USDA. What is NAIS? It is an identification system for all U.S. livestock that will keep track of the movement of all domestic animals intended for our food supply. It is being couched under the auspices of national food safety and Homeland Security.

Sounds good, doesn’t it! Very American! But the facts are this regulatory proposal creates a huge imposition on the small, family farmer. Not only will require everyone who raises livestock for food production to register their farm premises in a national database, by 2010, the USDA will mandate the microchip identification of every cow, sheep, pig and eventually chicken on a farmer’s property. The cost? Estimated at $37.00 per animal!

In reality, the regulation is primarily intended to keep track of interstate and global commerce. However, it’s unintended consequences become a huge burden to our local family farmer. Shouldn’t there be an exemption for local and regional movement of livestock from farmer to consumer? After all, this is easy to track. For example, take the cow share program for distributing raw milk. The dairyman is required to keep on file a copy of every consumer’s contact information: the tracking system is already in place.

On all of our behalf, the Farmer to Consumer Legal Defense Fund has sued the USDA in opposition to NAIS. The Raw Milk Association of Colorado has joined this fight, as have many grass roots consumer advocacy organizations. Trust me folks: NAIS is bogus regulation, an unnecessary invasion of our privacy, a substantial burden on the small farmer, and a complete waste of taxpayer money!

For more information, visit these links:
- Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund
- Livestock Tracing Bill Could Be End of Family Farms, Ranches - a recent opinion article from the Washington Examiner