FOOD

A Farm Bill for Rural America

Fact Sheet • February 2011

O ur food system is broken, and it didn’t happen by accident. Rampant

consolidation in the food industry has left control of much of our food in the
hands of a few large firms which serve as a bottleneck between 2 million farmers and
more than 300 million consumers. Farmers receive lower prices for their products
while consumers face higher prices at the grocery store. As more farms bow to the
economic pressure to “get big or get out,” rural communities have suffered.

Consumers are increasingly seeking alternatives to the indus-

trial food system. Sales of organic foods have skyrocketed
in recent years, and new farmers markets are sprouting up
across the country. But we can’t just shop our way out of this
problem. While we work to restore links in our local food
systems that bring farms and consumers together, we must
fix our broken food policy at the federal level. Our next farm
bill should ensure fair markets for farmers and rebuild re-
gional food systems that consumers need to reconnect with
healthy, fair food while strengthening rural economies.

Here are three ways the next farm bill can help.

Supporting Family Farmers

Independent family farmers — those that are smaller than
industrialized operators producing one crop for giant
agribusiness and larger than very small niche farms direct-
marketing produce — should be the backbone of American
agriculture, but they have become increasingly rare over
Farming requires significant up-front investments just to
the last three decades. It’s no surprise that many farms have
failed: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s get started each season, but farmers don’t get paid until
their crops are harvested or their livestock are delivered
most recent Census of Agriculture, less than half of all farms
in the United States break even. The rest rely on off-farm to market. Farmers rely on loans to buy farmland and to
income to cover their expenses. finance their seasonal operation costs, but access to credit
on fair terms is often difficult to find, especially during the
Over the last three decades, farm policy has emphasized current economic crisis. The largest commodity growers
tools that work well for big agribusiness corporations but find it easier to get loans, crop insurance and disaster pay-
not for farmers. Independent family farmers have been sold ments than do smaller, sustainable operations. Farmers who
out by an agriculture policy that favors the overproduction want to transition from conventional commodities to fruits
of commodity crops like corn and soybeans. The resulting or vegetables, organic production or other alternatives have
low commodity prices hurt farmers and benefit agribusi- difficulty accessing these important programs.
ness buyers of these crops, including factory farm feedlots
that feed corn and soybeans to livestock and processed The right farm bill policies are critical to providing fair mar-
food manufacturers. kets and a safety net for family farmers.
Strengthening Rural Economies by
Rebuilding Local Food Systems
America needs more than one kind of farmer raising more
than one kind of crop or animal. Investments in research to
improve productivity and facilitate value-added processing
and marketing should serve the needs of an array of farm
sizes, production models, regions and supply chains.

Consolidation in the food system has eliminated the local

butchers, independent dairies, produce wholesale mar-
ketplaces and regional grain milling operations that used
to be found in every region of the country. Small farmers
are increasingly able to sell direct to consumers, but it is
harder for medium-scale farms or those who raise livestock
or grains to get their products to market without access to
independently owned infrastructure like meat plants, grain
mills and distributors. Rebuilding the missing links in the
food chain could revitalize communities, create jobs and
offer consumers more choices than they currently have in a
system where a few companies dominate the supply chain
for most foods.
Farm bill programs should be targeted to support the
rebuilding of local and regional food production infrastruc-
ture and distribution chains.
Environmental Stewardship
Family farms can play an important role in promoting clean
energy and mitigating climate change. Sustainable agricul-
ture can sequester carbon in the soil, proliferate on-farm
windmills and produce bioenergy from crop wastes for
on-farm energy consumption. The role of farmers as stew-
ards of biodiversity should be supported and encouraged.
Mid-sized livestock operations producing meat and milk in
responsible ways can deliver environmental, economic and
social benefits to rural communities, if they can survive in
markets dominated by large factory farms.
The farm bill should encourage sustainable agricultural
practices that help small and mid-sized farmers stay in
business and protect the environment. The farm bill should
also discourage the expansion of large-scale confinement
livestock facilities.
How to Get There
The farm bill is crucial for creating a more fair, safe and
sustainable food system. We need to work to make sure the
2012 Farm Bill includes:
• Diversity: We need more than one kind of farmer rais-
ing more than one kind of crop or animal, and oppor-
tunities for beginning and minority farmers to thrive in
agriculture.
• Regional and seasonal markets: Every region of Amer-
ica used to produce nearly every kind of crop and ani-
mal that people eat. Our food policy should encourage
farmers to grow and consumers to eat crops suitable to
their region, season and climate, while supplementing
their winter pantry with produce from warmer parts
of the United States, or with imports from places with
adequate safety, labor and environmental rules.
• Safe workplaces and fair wages: The food system needs
to be fair to everyone that labors to bring food from the
farm to the fork.
Take Action
We need good food policy to drive the change we want in
our food system, so that everyone has access to good food
and rural economies can thrive by feeding their neighbors.
This won’t happen by itself. We need to organize in our
communities, hold our elected officials accountable, and
make sure they get the message loud and clear that we
need a fair farm bill.
To join the campaign for a fair farm bill and take action, go
to www.foodandwaterwatch.org/fairfarmbill.

• Fair markets: There need to be enough buyers for crops

and livestock to give producers a fighting chance to For more information:
receive a fair price. web: www.foodandwaterwatch.org
email: info@fwwatch.org
• Sustainable livestock: Independent, family-scale live- phone: (202) 683-2500 (DC) • (415) 293-9900 (CA)
stock operations producing meat and milk in responsi-
ble ways should replace industrial livestock operations. Copyright © February 2011 Food & Water Watch