July 6th, 2021

Re: Sponsorship of newly introduced climate and agriculture policy reform bills

Dear U.S. Senators and Representatives from Washington State:

We, the undersigned farm, food, rural, community, consumer and faith organizations, urge our Washington congressional representatives to support federal legislation enabling the transition away from an industrial system of agriculture that has progressively stolen the livelihoods of small and mid-sized farmers, poisoned and depleted our natural resource base, hollowed out our rural communities, and driven the climate crisis.  We therefore ask our U.S. congressional leaders from Washington State to represent our collective interests by co-sponsoring the following bills that will incentivize and support the shift to an ecologically sustainable and economically just system of food and farming:

 THE AGRICULTURE RESILIENCE ACT
 THE FARM SYSTEMS REFORM ACT
 THE CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP ACT  
 THE FOOD & AGRIBUSINESS MERGER MORATORIUM AND ANTITRUST REVIEW ACT
 THE RELIEF FOR AMERICA’S SMALL FARMERS ACT  
 THE JUSTICE FOR BLACK FARMERS ACT

Those of us in the farming community pride ourselves on how we farm and grow food, and how we treat the land that nurtures it. Some of us have been farming for generations while others are fairly new, but we're all committed to growing practices that are  environmentally sustainable for people and the planet.  In a rapidly changing climate, it's the clear path forward.

Agriculture is in fact the largest human use of land.  According to the USDA, 52% of land in the U.S. – representing well over a billion acres -  is dedicated to agricultural production. Industrial agriculture, characterized by vast acreages of input-intensive, monoculture crops and giant confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), has been successful at supplying large volumes of cheap commodity crops to global markets, but comes at an unsustainably high ecological and societal cost.  By pushing farmers towards increasingly large and less diverse farming operations that rely upon petroleum-based chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the industrial agrifood system is actually driving the converging crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity.  

Industrial Agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gas pollution

This fossil fuel-dependent and export-driven system of food production has systematically poisoned our air, land and water; it has impoverished our soil, diets, farmer livelihoods and rural communities, alike;  it is the main use of fresh water and the biggest driver of biodiversity loss. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the current system of industrial agriculture also contributes close to one third of all greenhouse gas emissions.  

Diversified Farming Systems offer a climate solution

But agriculture, when conducted in a regenerative, ecologically sustainable manner, can actually become a climate solution instead of a major driver of climate change.  Unlike the degraded and depleted soils caused by industrial agriculture methods, healthy soils produced in agroecological, diversified farming systems, can sequester large amounts of carbon and can efficiently retain water, providing crop resilience in the face of extreme weather events.

Transitioning away from the polluting and resource-depleting practices of industrial agriculture, that undermine the very ecosystem services upon which farming (and life) ultimately depends, to locally-based, diversified farming and agroforestry systems can restore the health of our soil, our ecosystems, our climate and our rural communities.  And a growing body of evidence shows that these diversified, regenerative farming systems can perform as well or better than industrial agriculture in terms of total outputs, particularly under conditions of environmental stress.  

Federal Policy Reforms are needed to support the transition to agroecological farming

But current federal policy doesn’t incentivize farmers to pursue soil or biodiversity conservation practices; rather, through an entrenched system of commodity crop subsidies and insurance payments, it encourages the fencerow to fencerow planting of soil-degrading monoculture crops on hundreds of millions of acres of American farmland.. These crops are then sold, often at a price below the grower’s cost of production, and subsidized by the taxpayer, to global commodity markets. Fully 1/3 of farm revenue for corn and soy production is paid for through federal subsidies, while fruit and vegetable crops, which are grown on only 2% of American farmland, are not eligible for these payments.

And consumers don’t benefit from these discounted commodity crop prices; instead, the profits accrue to a small  group of multinational corporate buyers that govern the pricing of these commodities, marketed almost entirely for livestock feed, ethanol production, and processed food ingredients.  A staggering 95% of soy grown in the U.S. is used as feed in environmentally degradative CAFOs.. The result is a system of government subsidies that support farming practices destructive to human health and the environment and that prioritize the interests of a few multinational agribusiness corporations over those of farmers, rural communities and consumers.  
 
Regulatory policy and economic incentives must be shifted in order for sustainable alternatives to an industrial model of agriculture to emerge beyond the margins.  We’re therefore highly  encouraged by the following bills which have the potential to revolutionize U.S. agriculture – by supporting  farmer efforts to transition to regenerative practices, curtailing consolidation in the food and agriculture sector, supporting the viability of small and medium sized farmers, restoring ecosystems and ecosystem services, and mitigating climate change.  

We urge our U.S. Senators and Representatives from Washington State to stand with our farming community in support of these bills, summarized and linked below:

- H.R. 2803, S 1337,  THE AGRICULTURE RESILIENCE ACT.  (117th Congress)  Rep. Pingree (D-ME), Senator Heinrich (D- NM)  
    * Rewards farmers for promoting healthy soil and carbon sequestration.
    * Supports farmers for practicing pasture-based livestock systems.
    * Provides financial incentives to help farms transition to green energy.
    * New federal programs aimed at reducing food waste.    
                                                                                                         
- H.R 2933, S.1956,  THE FOOD & AGRIBUSINESS MERGER MORATORIUM AND ANTITRUST REVIEW ACT. (116th Congress)  Rep. Pocan (D-WI),  Senator Booker (D-NJ).  (Bill expected to be reintroduced this year.)
    * Places a moratorium on certain acquisitions between large agricultural and retail-related businesses, thereby halting the consolidation of the farming industry, so that:
        * Independent family farmers and ranchers don’t have their input prices constantly and unfairly increased and can sell their products at fairer prices.
        * Efforts to promote regenerative farming practices are not thwarted.    

- H.R. 6718,  S. 3221, THE FARM SYSTEM REFORM ACT.  (116th Congress)  Rep. Khanna (D-CA-17), Sen. Booker (D-NJ). (Bill expected to be reintroduced this year.)
    * Phases out concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and large factory farms that produce enormous waste and harmful pollution.
    * Offers buyouts to help farmers transition from CAFOs to regenerative practices

- H.R.____, S. 1072,  THE CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP ACT OF 2021.  (117th Congress)   Rep. Spanberger (D-VA), Sen. Booker (D-NJ).
    * Plants 16 billion trees, including 400 million in urban areas.
    * Restores and protects 2 million acres of essential coastal wetlands.
    * Invests in regional food systems, helping small and medium sized farms provide fresh, nutritious food to more people via local systems.

- H.R. 6683, S. 3602 RELIEF FOR AMERICA’S SMALL FARMERS ACT. (116th Congress)  Rep. Maloney (D-NY), Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY). (Bill expected to be reintroduced this year.)
    * Small family farmers are the backbone of our food system and rural economies, and they need our support in this moment of unprecedented hardship.  We cannot afford to lose a single additional farm.
    * The Relief for America’s Small Farmers Act would provide direct debt relief for small farmers around the country by providing a one-time loan forgiveness of up to $250,000 across three types of USDA FSA loans: Direct Operating, Direct Farm Ownership, and Emergency Loans.    

- HR 1393, S. 300, JUSTICE FOR BLACK FARMERS ACT.  (117th Congress) Rep. Adams, (D-NC), Sen.  Booker (D-NJ)
    * The Justice for Black Farmers Act enacts policies to end discrimination within the USDA, protects remaining Black farmers from losing their land, provides land grants to create a new generation of Black farmers and restore the land base that has been lost, and implements systemic reforms to help family farmers across the United States.

Thank-you in advance for considering these important issues affecting our climate, our environment and our farming communities.

Sincerely,