Food assistance and conservation programs need your support in the next farm bill
Senators Debbie Stabenow, John Boozman, Corey A. Booker, John Fetterman, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Peter Welch, and Representatives Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, David Scott, Jahana Hayes, Nick Langworthy, Chellie Pingree, Jim McGovern, Marc Molinaro
We are calling on Congress to pass a farm bill that maintains the $20 Billion Inflation Reduction Act funding for conservation programming. The four main conservation programs funded by the IRA support climate-smart organic practices such as cover cropping and conservation crop rotation, practices that build soil health and increase crop yields. The results amount to a triple win: farms reduce greenhouse gas emissions while removing carbon from the atmosphere, increasing yields and thus the bottom line. These voluntary programs have been vastly underfunded and thousands of farmers have applied and been rejected for lack of funding in the past.
We are also calling on Congress to sustain public investments in SNAP and other nutrition programs for low-income children and seniors. It is our belief that access to affordable, nutritious food is a human right. Supplemental funding of nutrition programs during COVID greatly reduced poverty and food insecurity, especially in households with children, the elderly, or those with disabilities.
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To:
Senators Debbie Stabenow, John Boozman, Corey A. Booker, John Fetterman, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Peter Welch, and Representatives Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, David Scott, Jahana Hayes, Nick Langworthy, Chellie Pingree, Jim McGovern, Marc Molinaro
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Chairwoman Stabenow; Ranking Member Boozman; Chairman Thompson; Ranking Member Scott; and Committee Members representing the Northeast:
The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) is a coalition of seven NOFA state chapters, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Our purpose is to advocate for and educate on organic and sustainable agriculture, family-scale farming and homesteading in rural, suburban and urban areas, agricultural justice and other related policy issues. As farmers, advocates and eaters, we urge you to protect funding for NRCS Conservation Programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the next farm bill.
The nearly $20 billion investment in agricultural conservation funding through the Inflation Reduction Act is an historic and necessary investment in the future of our food system and must remain dedicated to climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. The four main conservation programs administered by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) include the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
In the past 5 years, the top practices that the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has supported northeast farms in adopting are cover cropping (29%) and conservation crop rotation (22%), practices that build soil health and increase crop yields. The results amount to a triple win: farms reduce greenhouse gas emissions while removing carbon from the atmosphere, increasing yields and thus the bottom line.
While hundreds of farms have received support in adopting these and other climate-smart practices, there are thousands more farms in need of support as evidenced by the impressive oversubscription rates for conservation programs. For example, according to a report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, in 2022, fewer than 40% of the 2013 applications received for the EQIP program in New York were awarded and just under 64% of CSP applications were awarded. This rate of oversubscription demonstrates the high demand for these programs and the opportunity we have to increase participation and the associated climate and conservation benefits.
Investments in NRCS Conservation Programs are proven to equip farmers with the tools they need to address climate change head-on, unlike carbon market schemes that have not proven to benefit farmers, particularly smaller-scale farmers, and farmers of color, and have not consistently or permanently reduced GHG emissions. Expanding participation in proven, reliable conservation programs with IRA and farm bill funding must remain a central strategy for increasing agriculture’s contribution to combatting the climate crisis. We the undersigned call on Congress to pass a farm bill that maintains the $20 Billion IRA funding for conservation programming.
Federal nutrition programs have played a critical role in ensuring people could continue to put food on the table during the twin COVID-19 public health and economic crises. It is our belief that access to affordable, nutritious food is a human right. According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), 81% of SNAP households include a child, an elderly person, or a person with disabilities; 86% of all SNAP benefits go to such households. In addition to helping reduce poverty and food insecurity, SNAP improves health and general well-being with long-lasting effects and generates economic stability. Each $1 in SNAP benefits during a downturn generates between $1.50 and $1.80 in economic activity.
During the COVID-19 federal Public Health Emergency in 2021, Congress temporarily expanded SNAP eligibility. Together with the Expanded Child Tax Credits, child poverty, and food insecurity dropped by over 40%. Free school meals, both breakfast and lunch, including summer meals, enabled millions of children to concentrate on learning. Farmers all over the country benefited as well because purchases of their products at Farmers’ Markets increased, especially where federal and state funds supported “double-up bucks.” For the health of this nation, we call on Congress to continue public investments in SNAP and other nutrition programs for low-income children and seniors.
In conclusion, extensive research makes it clear that federal conservation and nutrition programs are interdependent. The climate, farmer livelihoods, and the health of lower-income children and elders will all benefit by protecting funding for NRCS Conservation Programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the next farm bill.
Respectfully submitted,
Northeast Organic Farming Association, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and the undersigned members of our network