You can help create a more equitable, climate-resilient, and community-based food system by asking your Members of Congress in the U.S. House and Senate to support the priorities put forward by farmers and advocates in the northeast for the 2023 Farm Bill.

Fill out this form to send an e-letter to your representatives co-signing your support for the below bills. Through extensive outreach to our members and farmers, organic farming associations across the Northeast have identified these as crucial inclusions in the 2023 Farm Bill.

Anyone can fill out this form, but if you are a farmer, please do indicate your farm name/location. Please feel free to simply voice your support for this suite of priorities and/or expand on your perspective regarding why the farm bill should focus on climate, land, and food justice for all.

We are asking Congress to:

Expand Opportunities in Organic

The forthcoming Opportunities in Organic Act, offers a suite of flexible, easy-to-access tools to reduce barriers to organic agriculture, including for Black farmers, Indigenous farmers, farmers of color and producers historically excluded from organic certification. It will modernize reimbursements for organic certification, increase technical expertise and support within public institutions and NGOs and expand support for producers transitioning to organic.

Demand Climate Action

The Agriculture Resilience Act will harness the power of agriculture to confront our climate and biological crises. With urgent action now, including the investments and policy reforms in the ARA, we can meet our climate goals and dramatically improve our food system while engaging farmers in making the critical changes necessary for our future.

Support Organic Dairy

Immediate support to address dramatically increased organic input costs for organic dairy farms is urgently needed to reverse the alarming decline in family organic dairy farms in the northeast. The Organic Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Reporting Yields Act (O DAIRY) will increase organic milk market transparency by requiring AMS to publish organic-specific data, invest in local infrastructure and create a safety net that supports the specific needs of organic dairy farms. Systemic reforms such as those detailed in the Milk from Family Dairies Act are also needed to ensure farm viability and market opportunities for all family dairies.

Secure Equitable Access to Land and Credit

USDA has a demonstrated history of discriminating against Black, Indigenous and farmers of color in lending and credit practices and program implementation. Our nation must take action now to facilitate secure, affordable access to land and access to credit for young farmers and farmers of color—there is no time to wait. The reforms in the Justice for Black Farmers Act and the Fair Credit for Farmers Act are a first step in addressing and correcting discrimination against Black farmers in farm assistance and lending programs and to ensure representation on county FSA committees. Access to land is the number one challenge facing young farmers in the United States. The Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities (LASO) Act would strengthen land access, retention, and transition while improving access to capital and markets for underserved farmers and ranchers.

Protect Farms from PFAS

Farmland that is contaminated with PFAS (aka “forever chemicals”) is a threat to public health and farm viability and must be addressed to ensure a safe and prosperous future. As PFAS contaminated soil, milk, and even produce and crops are detected, farm families and farmworkers are most vulnerable and need immediate support to protect themselves, their business, and their communities against continued exposure. The Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act would authorize funding for states to assist affected farmers, expand monitoring and testing, and fund PFAS research.  

Reject False Solutions

We join with our allies across the many sectors of the food system in opposing legislation that will increase consolidation and corporate power through mechanisms that prioritize short term profit over long term sustainability, such as carbon markets and biogas markets. These false solutions focus too narrowly on carbon or methane at the detriment of biodiversity, ecosystem health and function, and allow bad actors to continue to pollute while further entrenching farmers in systems of chemically-intensive agriculture. (To learn more about what we mean by "false solutions", check out this explainer from our allies at IATP.)

Ensure Dignity and Fairness for Food Chain Workers

A thriving, equitable food and farm system requires the wellbeing of people who work in all parts of the supply chain. Historically, the Farm Bill has failed to provide necessary support and protections to millions of these workers on whom we all depend. The Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act would provide essential safety standards, fair labor practices and improve transparency in one of our country's most consolidated industries. The Fairness for Farm Workers Act would gradually implement overtime pay for farmworkers over the next four years, with the goal of increasing equity in the agricultural industry. Finally, the Supporting our Farm and Food System Workforce Act would create a new USDA Office of the Farm and Food System Workforce, providing workers with more opportunities to raise their concerns and interests within USDA, and requiring USDA to release public reports about its efforts to improve working conditions and livelihoods.