Farm Bill | IATP

After 2022 midterms, opportunities for progress shift from Congress to states, executive branch

Depending on which headlines you read, 2022’s midterm elections had different takeaways, including a worse than expected showing for Republicans, the ultimate flipping of the United States House from Democrats to Republicans, the drop-off in turnout among Democrats in New York, California and Florida, and resounding Democratic successes in places like Michigan, Minnesota and P

Payments for Pollution: How federal conservation programs can better benefit farmers and the environment

Conservation Reserve Program food price letter to USDA

Appetite For Change, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake Counties Farmers Union (Ohio), Climate Land Leaders - Sharing Our Roots, Compañeras Campesinas, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Environmental Working Group, Family Farm Defenders, Farm Aid, Farmworker Association of Florida, Food Insight Group, Georgia Organics, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Land Stewardship Project, League of Conservation Voters, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, MOSES - Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, National Center for Appropriate Technology, National Family Farm Coalition, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, National Wildlife Federation, National Young Farmers Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Nebraska Wildlife Federation, Nourish Colorado, Rural Coalition, Rural Vermont, Union of Concerned Scientists

April 1st, 2022

Agriculture

Farm Bill

To read the full letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack delivered on March 31, 2022, please download a PDF of the letter.  Dear Mr. Secretary,

The New York Times took on the food system. Here’s what they missed.

The following op-ed was written for and published by Civil Eats. Republished here with permission. 

Closed out: How U.S. farmers are denied access to conservation programs

According to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), between 2010 and 2020, just 31% of farmers who applied to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and only 42% of farmers who applied to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) were awarded contracts. Overall, EQIP turned down 946,459 contracts and CSP denied 146,425 contracts, at least partially for lack of funds.

New territory: USDA puts spotlight on food supply chain resilience

An under-the-radar executive order signed by the Biden administration in late February could have big implications for our food system.

After Trump’s payouts are gone, what happens to farmers?

A farm economy awash in an unprecedented infusion of public dollars directed by the Trump administration could face a reckoning soon. Close to $40 billion in agriculture-related payments this year mask structural problems in a badly broken market that doesn’t pay most farmers enough to continue farming.

New rules weaken protections for rural communities and the climate

One of the nation’s bedrock environmental protections is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and it’s particularly critical for rural communities.

Letter to the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) thanks the Committee for seeking input on the climate crisis, the most critical challenge of our time. IATP is a 34-year-old non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. IATP works to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.

Keeping conservation dollars climate-friendly

The Farm Bill’s conservation title includes a suite of programs that pay farmers for implementing conservation projects on their land. These programs are beneficial for numerous reasons: they encourage practices that sequester carbon, clean up the water, create wildlife habitat and make farms more resilient to extreme weather.