What Happened to the Farm Bill

What Happened to the Farm Bill

(And Why do Environmentalists Care)

Submitted by Joanna Lasher, LWVSC Environment Chair
August 5, 2024

What is the Farm Bill?

According to the Congressional Research Service, “The Farm Bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an opportunity for policy makers to comprehensively and periodically address agricultural and food issues. In addition to developing and enacting farm legislation, Congress is involved in overseeing its implementation. The farm bill typically is renewed about every five years. Since the 1930s, Congress has enacted about 18 farm bills.” The budget projections for the 10 years for the 2018 farm bill was $867 billion. (Farm Bill Primer, Updated February 29, 2024.)

The massive sum of $867 billion and its impact through 12 categories of programs which affect the nation’s agriculture and food chain make it immediately obvious why there is a lot of controversy among legislators and their constituents over how the money will be spent.

I’ve identified three major groups who are major players in the development of programs for this bill:

The first is big agriculture, a small group of corporations who have controlled our food supply from farm to the marketplace, (including their army of paid lobbyists) who have been, by far, the primary beneficiaries of these funds. It has been felt that this was the cheapest, most efficient way to feed a large population. However, their use of chemical fertilizers poisons the water and the pollinators in addition to other wildlife and endangers our health. The practice of planting a very narrow list of engineered crops which use up the nutrients in the soil is unsustainable.

The second are the small to medium size family farms represented by a non profit organization called Farm Aid: www.farmaid.org. They are very concerned about corporate power in agriculture,

“Their unbridled power grants them increasing political influence over the rules that govern our food system and allows them to manipulate the marketplace—pushing down the prices paid to family farmers and driving them out of business.

“ For eaters, extreme consolidation leaves fewer choices in the grocery aisle and higher prices, while corporate-written policies are sparking growing food safety concerns and less transparency in the marketplace.

“ In sum, our corporate controlled food system damages rural communities, local economies, public health and the soil and water needed to sustain food production….
(Corporate Power, Farm Aid Archives, p. 2)

What Farm Aid wants in the 2023 Farm Bill

They support a Farm Bill that:
“Endorses policy platforms of our partners including National Sustainable Agricultural Coalition (PDF), RAFI, National Family Farm Coalition (PDF), RAFI National Family Farm Coalition (PDF) and others….”

They support a Farm Bill that:
“Addresses the economic crisis of family farms…
Reforms our industrialized agricultural system…
Addresses the corporate monopolies that dominate our food system…
Protects our soil and water and addresses the existential threat of climate change…”

(What Farm Aid Wants in the 2023 Farm Bill, https://www.farmaid.org/issues/farm-policy/what-farm-aid-wants-in-the-2023-farm-bill/ through investing in organic agriculture funding and research, increasing the funding of conservation programs, expanding programs that incentivize climate mitigation practices and prioritizing climate change, soil health and regenerative agricultural research. p. 1 of 9)

The farm industry most impacted in New York State is Dairy. Dairy Farms in America have gone from 460,000 in 1970 t0 28,000 in 1922 (USDA Milk Production Report, May 2023) The cost of production for farmers has risen due largely to the increase of input costs like fuel and feed, while the value of U. S. milk has been kept artificially low so that it can compete as an export on the global market (“U.S. dairy policies drive small farms to ‘get big or get out’ as monopolies get rich,” The Guardian, January 2023 ).

The result is that the average U.S. dairy farm has been in the black only twice since 2000, while profits of dairy cooperatives, export companies, and dairy lobbyists have ballooned (“Economic Costs of Food Monopolies: The Dirty Dairy Racket,” Food and Water Watch, 2023).

This is important to New Yorkers because it impacts food security and impacts the rural economy, not only through the farms themselves, but all the local businesses that service them in our region. Dairy farms are stewards of about 17.4 thousand acres of the land in our state, according to the 2017 census, and today large industrial farms pollute more and emit more greenhouse gases than family run operations because of the way they operate and process their waste. (“Dairy Decline: The Harsh Reality for Farmers and What We Can Do About it,” Farmaid.org 2023)

The third are the non-profit environmental groups. The leading one lobbying for goals in this Bill appears to be the Natural Resources Defense Council based in New York City, but with offices around the country and internationally. They have about 2 million members and a staff of about 500 lawyers, scientists and policy experts.

Their website (www.nrdc.org) lists the following priorities:

1. Reducing barriers to organic agriculture

2. Reducing food waste across the food system

3. Incentivizing cover crops to boost healthy soils

4, Extending and expanding support for healthy soil practices

5. Expanding access to clean energy

6. Providing support for effective rural sanitation

7. Building food systems and advancing equity

“Additional Considerations

Defending against policy riders and attacks that undermine protections for public health and and environment and make it harder for farmers to put food on the table….

(NRDC Fact Sheet 2023 Farm Bill Priorities)

NRDC also strongly opposes any provisions that threaten to slash critical investments made in the 117th Congress dedicated to supporting climate-smart agricultural policies that will help protect the livelihoods of farmers and producers and secure a safe, reliable food supply in the face of a changing climate. (Fact Sheet 2023 Bill Priorities, pp 1-2.)

The last Farm Bill (2018) expired in 2023. The controversy over the broad goals and objectives of this Farm Bill have continued into 2024 with many divisions, often along party lines, delaying renewal.

The Fight Against the Impacts of Climate Change

by Joanna Lasher, LWVSC Environment Chair Jan 17, 2024

What is happening to the World’s Climate?  In the United States? New York? The Capital Region? Daily there are pictures on the News. Scary Weather reports. New reports from scientists saying changes such as melting glaciers, higher average temperatures, animal species going extinct, fires burning millions of acres, and mega storms happening at an ever increasing rate and sooner than previously predicted!

Many of these effects are far away and seem to be totally beyond our control. There seems to be no way for us to have an impact. However, the weird weather patterns, heavy rains and flooding are becoming much more a part of our lives locally. Those  of you who have been attending League of Women Voters of Saratoga County Meet-ups the last few years  are probably aware that we have had several programs addressing Climate Change issues in New York State. You may know that New York adopted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act,(a premier model program plan for the country) in 2019. Between 2020 and 2022, Committees of the Climate Action Council met for many hours to develop the Climate Scoping Plan which was introduced in January 2023,  The goal of this act was to develop a timeline to replace fossil fuels/ dirty energy and polluted air and water with clean energy and and a cleaner environment and do it while developing new good jobs and using 40% of the funds to improve disadvantaged communities. By 2030, 70% of electricity is to be produced from renewable resources. By 2040, the goal is to have zero per cent emissions of green house gases.  By 2050 the goal is to have NY  be carbon neutral as compared to 1990 levels.

Since the Scoping Plan has been released, many members of the legislature and Governor Hochul have been working hard to produce legislation to meet and fund these goals. A lot of progress has been made, but the struggle is ongoing. Fossil fuel companies, that have been traditionally supported by public funding and favorable regulations while making billions of dollars are fighting back. They have an army of lobbyists putting forth a variety of false solutions that appear to bridge the gap, but only produce more polluting emissions and more delays which we can no longer afford. Old regulations allow them to ask for more money to build infrastructure paid for by taxpayers that will lock us into fossil fuels for decades to come.

What can we do?

First we can keep ourselves informed through a variety of trusted sources.

Second, we can support groups such as the Climate Action Council that put in 100s of hours developing a plan and a timeline to make progress at the state level and then advocate alone or in partnership with groups who are working to develop legislation to further projects, change regulations and provide funding to meet these goals.

The League of Women Voters New York State does pick out legislation for which they advocate and encourage local leagues to advocate. That includes bills recommended by experts in the environmental area as well as bills on other types of issues.

For the purpose of education, we are sponsoring a speaker for the April 18 League Monthly Forum who will talk to us about progress the state is making in pursuit of Scoping Plan goals: Blair Horner, Executive Director of New York Public Interest Research Group. (See Events Calendar).

COP15 - A Global Action Plan to Protect Biodiversity

Understanding the Importance of COP15

By Nancy Tudor, Four League Environment Committee
April 20, 2023

You may be familiar with the United Nations Convention on Climate Change COP27 (Conference of Parties), but are you familiar with COP15, a conference on biological diversity? COP27 and COP15 are very closely related. However, climate change gets much more attention than biological diversity. Climate COPs have a clear focus to limit global temperature rises to “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while aiming to limit heating to 1.5°C, as settled under the Paris agreement in 2015. Currently, the UN’s biodiversity process does not have an equivalent focal point. In December 2022, nearly 200 governments from around the world came together in Montreal, Canada, to agree on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse nature loss. Nature is critical to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Adoption of a bold global biodiversity framework that addresses the key drivers of nature loss is needed to secure our own health and well-being alongside that of the planet.

Nature is in crisis. For the past three decades governments have been meeting to ensure the survival of the species and ecosystems that undermine human civilization. Earth is experiencing the largest loss of life since dinosaurs, and humans are to blame. The way we mine, pollute, hunt, farm, build, and travel are putting at least one million species at risk of extinction, according to scientists. The sixth mass extinction in geological history has already begun, some scientists assert, with billions of individual populations being lost. The aim of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is for countries to conserve the natural world, its sustainable use, and to share the benefits of its genetic resources.

The COP15 agreement embeds the promotion of human rights and the “rights of nature” into a plan to protect and restore biodiversity through 2030. The “rights of nature” recognizes that nature and everything it encompasses—from animal and plant species to rivers, mountains, and the soil—possess inherent rights similar to those of human beings.

The COP15 agreement consists of four overarching global goals to protect nature and the Earth’s ecosystems.

1. Agreement to conserve 30% of earth by the end of the decade: Protecting a third of the planet for the long-term survival of humanity, the most high-profile target at COP15.

2. Indigenous rights at the heart of conservation: Several scientific studies have shown that Indigenous peoples are the best stewards of nature, representing 5% of humanity but protecting 80% of earth’s biodiversity.

3. Reform of environmentally harmful subsidies: The world spends at least $1.8tn every year on government subsidies driving the annihilation of wildlife and a rise in global heating, according to a study earlier this year.

4. Nature disclosures for businesses: This would require governments to ensure that large and transnational companies disclose “their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity.” According to the UN, biodiversity loss is rapidly shooting up the agenda of corporate risks. Other targets focus on reducing pollution from all sources, requiring businesses to disclose their environmental impacts and dependence on biodiversity, managing agriculture and fisheries sustainably and implementing legal, policy and educational measures to encourage people to make “sustainable consumption choices.”

Conclusion

Every 10 years, governments agree on new targets on protecting biodiversity. The world has so far failed to meet any UN targets on halting the loss of nature. Awareness of this crisis is greater. The COP15 biodiversity agreement is not binding; therefore, it will ultimately be up to governments to ensure that those rights are protected as conservation projects are carried out to further the plan’s goals. Hopefully the agreement will ensure an adequate means of implementation, including financial resources, technical and scientific cooperation, and access to and transfer of technology to fully implement the COP15 global biodiversity framework.

Support the Environmental Bond Ballot Proposal

On November 8th, 2022, New York voters will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect clean water, update infrastructure, build parks, and improve quality of life in every county of the state.

The League of Women Voters of New York State is supporting the Vote Yes for Clean Water & Jobs coalition which is leading the campaign to encourage voters to approve the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act in the general election this November.

The Coalition believes that the top reasons for supporting the bond act are:

• Clean Drinking Water: The Bond Act will protect clean drinking water, a priceless resource.

• Modern Infrastructure: The measure will bring much-needed upgrades to outdated roads, sewer systems, and drinking water pipes.

• Local Jobs: The Bond Act will support nearly 100,000 good jobs.'

• Public Health: The measure will add street trees, reduce lead exposure, increase energy efficiency, and improve air quality.

• Wildlife Habitat: The Bond Act will conserve wildlife habitats and increase access to parks, nature centers, campgrounds, and public waterfronts.

Don’t forget to flip your ballot over on election day this fall to vote for the Clean Water, Clean Air, Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022. Election day is Tuesday, November 8, this year, and early voting is available from October 29 - November 6th.

Fact Sheet on the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Bond Act from the Vote Yes for Clean Water and Jobs Coalition