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Side-by-Side Comparison Report of the House and Senate Farm Bills
Status of the 2007 Farm Bill Debate and the Priorities of the Farm and Food Policy Diversity Initiative
December 10, 2007
Current House and Senate versions of the 2007 Farm Bill Includes Critical and Long Sought Advances for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers, Work Continues as Farm Bill Passes the Senate Floor.
Summary of Diversity Initiative Priorities
The members of the Farm and Food Policy Diversity Initiative drafted a broad policy proposal to address the needs of minority producers in almost every title of the Farm Bill. A brief overview of these priorities is as follows:
Assure that Agriculture Benefits are Shared Equitably by targeting funds within all Conservation, Specialty Crop, Commodity, Credit and other USDA programs to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers, Assure Proactive and Effective Outreach, Transparency, and Accountability in the delivery of USDA Program and Services, including full mandatory funding of the 2501 program; Provide equity for Minority Serving Institutions Access to Value Added Funding and Technical Assistance and Specialty Crop Purchases and Programs; Secure Access to and Protection of Farm and Ranch Land for Socially Disadvantaged producers Establish a Farmworker Coordinator and assure Disaster Protection for Farmworkers Provide for Adequate Nutrition and access to food for all, people and communities Promote Healthy Food Choices Halt Accelerations and Foreclosures for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
Summary of Results and Continuing DI Priorities
Our nation's agricultural producers are becoming increasingly ethnically diverse, yet USDA programs and services have historically underserved socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and have failed to recognize farmworkers as a part of agriculture. Provisions included in the current House and Senate versions of the Farm would help not only counteract lasting patterns of past discrimination, but would also recognize the importance of investing in these present and future producers.
As a whole, HR 2419 made numerous improvements in how USDA serves minority farmers. The bill includes mandatory funds specifically set aside to assist socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in conservation, marketing, outreach, technical assistance, and other services. The bills include specific measures that direct more benefits to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (SDFR) and take steps to hold the USDA accountable for monitoring and removing gaps in service.
To view a brief summary of key provisions of the bills passed by the full House and Senate Agriculture Committee, including differences and areas for continued focus, click HERE to display the PDF.
For more information contact Lorette Picciano at lpicciano@ruralco.org,
Savi Horne, Policy Team Chair, at savi@landloss.org, or
Quinton Robinson at qrobinson@ruralco.org.
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