The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 recently passed by the House Agriculture Committee does not serve the new generation of farmers and ranchers in this country. Young Farmers opposed the bill when it was initially released and mobilized hundreds of advocates in direct and grassroots action to encourage House Agriculture Committee members to vote against it. As it reads now, the bill fails to prioritize equitable farmland access, divests from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and strikes climate provisions that would assist farmers in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for extreme weather events.
Just before midnight on May 24, 2024, the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture voted on the bill. The committee considered the bill in a 13.5-hour hearing and passed it 33 yays to 21 nays. All Republicans voted in favor of the bill and were joined by Democratic Representatives Caraveo (D-CO-8), Sorensen (D-IL-17), Davis (D-NC-5), and Bishop (D-GA-2).
Although the bill passed through the House Ag Committee, that’s only the first step. We have several other opportunities to influence what is included in a final bill. But first, let’s break down all the red, green, and yellow flags included in the first draft. Here are our key priorities for the farm bill, followed by a title-by-title deep dive of provisions related to young and beginning farmers in the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024. This post is long, so here are shortcuts if you want to skip around to different sections and priorities.
Table of Contents
Land Access
There are several provisions in the bill that provide an important starting point for ongoing negotiations in the farm bill process, but overall, there has been a disappointing lack of focus on land and credit issues throughout the drafting and markup process. Far too much was left on the table in the final bill that advanced out of the Committee—particularly regarding investment in equitable land access, curtailing speculative purchase of farmland, and bringing direct land access focus to federal farmland conservation programs.
RED FLAGS
The Coalition is disappointed to see that the Chairman’s draft misses the mark on several aspects related to land and credit access policy proposals :
- No funding for equitable land access. The biggest disappointment was a lack of direct funding for community-led projects that invest in equitable land access, as Young Farmers’ and our partners have been advocating for through the Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities Act (LASO, H.R.3955, S.2340) and has received bi-partisan support from legislators. Federal investment in community-led land access and retention projects is a number one priority for young and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) farmers across the country and one that has received bipartisan support, including co-sponsorship by Republican House Agriculture Committee member, Zach Nunn (R-IA-3).
- Focus on foreign ownership misses the mark. The bill misses an opportunity to reign in the mounting pressures of speculative ownership and consolidation of farmland through measures outlined in the Farmland for Farmers Act (S.2583), which would build on existing state legislation to regulate foreign and domestic corporate purchases nationwide. Instead, the House bill includes provisions focused on tracking foreign ownership of farmland, which creates unnecessary potential harm for immigrant farmers while missing the mark of needed regulation of both foreign and domestic farmland purchases. As the National Family Farm Coalition points out, “Focusing only on foreign ownership distracts from an overarching trend of rising corporate investment in farmland, largely driven by U.S-based multinational corporations, private equity firms, and pension funds. (Sec. 12301)
- A step back in federal farmland conservation tools for land access. Although the bill increases funding for conservation easement programs with IRA dollars, it removes the important buy-protect-sell language from the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), which is a step backward in helping young and beginning farmers access land (Sec. 2601). Buy-protect-sell is a measure that Young Farmers advocated for in the 2018 Farm Bill, alongside our partners, that enables land trusts to utilize ACEP funds to move quickly in getting priority farmland off the open market and facilitate a sale to a farmer or rancher. The Farmland Access Act (S.2507) is a marker bill that includes numerous fixes to help this important tool function smoothly within ACEP and that we hope to see included in the Senate farm bill draft. (Sec. 2601)
- Problematic exemption in demographic reporting. The bill exempts the Farm Credit System, the largest agricultural lender in the country, from collecting and reporting demographic data on their borrowers, a provision that Young Farmers has advocated against alongside HEAL and numerous other partners . An amendment was offered on this that we were disappointed to see not move forward. (Sec. 5503)
- No inclusion of the Office of Small Farms. Young Farmers supports the Office of Small Farms Establishment Act of 2023 (H.R.2877, S.1809), which we hope would increase coordination at USDA in addressing land, credit, and other challenges young farmers face. We were disappointed to see this language not included in the bill text.
GREEN FLAGS
While this bill has too many shortcomings to merit passage, it’s not all bad. We are hopeful that it will help pave the way for important and long-awaited policy changes within FSA loan programs, through ACEP, and in support for organizations addressing heirs’ property. Some key wins include:
- The pre-approval pilot moves forward. The bill reauthorizes Cooperative Lending Pilot projects and specifically includes language that directs the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to establish a pre-approval pilot program for Direct Farm Ownership loans—one of the recommendations included in the 2022 Young Farmer Agenda and something that is sorely needed by prospective borrowers facing the pressures of the current real estate market. FSA is currently unable to offer pre-qualification or pre-approval services for farm ownership loans, yet this service is routinely offered by other lenders working with competing buyers for farm properties, which puts buyers who must use FSA financing at a disadvantage. This disproportionately impacts underserved farmers, who are less likely to have connections with current agricultural landowners due to historical discrimination and dispossession of land. Personal connections to landowners are key due to the long timeline of accessing FSA credit. We hope to see this provision included in the final farm bill draft, with slightly broadened language to include both pre-qualification and pre-approval (Sec. 5109).
- The requirement that beginning farmers and ranchers be related to accessing FSA loans together was removed. The bill eliminates the longstanding and arcane requirement that a “cooperative, corporation, partnership, joint operation, or such other legal entity” of beginning farmers and ranchers must be related by blood or marriage in order to qualify for FSA loan programs together. While there are more places in existing agricultural law where this language could be removed, this provision takes an important step forward in meeting young farmers where they are and increasing flexibility for cooperative land access (Sec. 5507).
- Maintains beginning farmers and ranchers set aside in FSA loan programs. The bill maintains the 50% direct loan fund set aside for beginning farmers and ranchers (Sec. 5403).
- Provides flexibility on management requirements for farm ownership loans. The bill provides flexibility for FSA to reduce the management requirement experience from three to two years, with added discretion to waive the requirement to one year for farmers qualifying for direct loans (Sec. 5102). The bill also provides new authority to allow USDA to refinance farm loans for distressed borrowers, although some of this flexibility was stripped back during the amendment process. This provision would be helpful, however, we would prefer similar language regarding this issue in the Fair Credit for Farmers Act (Sec. 5110).
- Shifts the burden of proof in the appeals process to USDA. The bill includes improvements to the National Appeals Division process that shifts the burden of proof to USDA, rather than the farmer, during an appeals process of an adverse loan decision (Sec. 12205).
- Continued support for land retention. The bill includes continued support for heirs’ property challenges through the ongoing authorization for the Heirs’ Property Relending Program and the addition of cooperative agreements for legal and accounting services, authorized with $60 million in discretionary funding (Sec. 5107).
- Increases funds and equity focus of ACEP while maintaining viability language. The bill boosts baseline funding for conservation easements in ACEP to $600 million per year, up from $450 million from IRA funds (Sec. 2501); increases overall cost-share from 50% to 65%; authorizes cost-share for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers up to 90% (Sec. 2602); and creates a separate applicant pool for SDA farmers and ranchers (Sec. 2603). The bill also leaves a provision in place that was won in the 2018 Farm Bill, which says the Secretary “may” give priority to projects that address farm viability.
- Increase in funding for agriculture mediation. The bill increases funding for State Agricultural Mediation Programs modestly from $500,000 to $700,000. These programs can be an important tool to support land transition (Sec. 5506).
YELLOW FLAGS
There were a few provisions in the bill text we had a mixed reaction to:
- Increase in land access data collection. The bill authorizes increased reporting on land access and farmland ownership data collection every two years. It includes some of the language from LASO that requires an inventory of federal, state, and private programs that facilitate access to land, capital, and markets. No increase in funding is allocated, however, which is a key need we have advocated for during appropriations (Sec. 12408).
- Increase in FSA Direct Farm Ownership loans cap to $850,000. In 2018, we fought for FSA Direct Farm Ownership loan caps to be raised to $600,000 from the previous limit of $300,000, which was no longer meeting farmers’ needs in the real estate market. The increase in the House bill to $850,000 is a welcome recognition of the continually rising cost of land, but falls short of truly helping young farmers without measures to reduce the rising costs of land and provide investment in equitable land access support. We also would like to see Direct Farm Ownership loan limits indexed to land values or another relevant benchmark, to ensure they continue keeping pace with the reality of the farmland real estate market (Sec. 5103).
- Reauthorizes Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Accounts. This program has been long authorized but never funded in the farm bill process. We believe it has the potential to help beginning farmers build and access credit, and while authorization is necessary, including this provision does not guarantee action. We are encouraged to see the language continue to be included. We will continue to advocate for funding in the appropriations process if this measure moves forward to the final bill (Sec. 5401).
- Updated support for farm transition focus, but no funding. The bill reauthorizes the Commission on Farm Transitions, which was originally authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill but never established, with an updated focus on heirs’ property, farm succession, and barriers for historically underserved farmers and ranchers. No funding for appropriations are included in this reauthorization, however. The bill overlooks the chance to address the challenges of farm transitions by omitting provisions from the Farm Transitions Act of 2024 (H.R.7769, S.4018), which includes initiatives such as enhancing apprenticeships, mentoring programs, and technical assistance, aimed at supporting sustainable ownership and succession of agricultural land (Sec. 12404).
- Keeps CRP-TIP funding steady. The bill maintains $50 million per year for the Conservation Reserve Program Transition Incentive Program, including $5 million dedicated to outreach. While we are glad to see this program continue, we would like to see the program continue to evolve to better reach young farmers and ranchers and meet their land access needs (Sec. 2501).
- Direction to study PFAS in farmland, but no funding. The bill includes a provision naming the study of PFAS chemicals in farmland as a high-priority research and extension initiative, but does not include funding to address this growing issue (Sec. 7204).
Water and Climate Action
Chairman Thompson’s bill includes a few provisions that we were happy to see, but ultimately falls short of taking the necessary action needed to address the climate crisis. The bill rolls back investment in climate practices and doesn’t address access to conservation programs for young and BIPOC farmers.
RED FLAGS
The Coalition is disappointed to see that the Chairman’s draft misses the mark on several aspects related to climate and water policy:
- Scraps Climate Guardrails for Inflation Reduction Act funding. When passed, the Inflation Reduction Act provided funding for critical farm bill conservation programs, like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). It required that these funds be used for practices that “improve soil carbon, reduce nitrogen losses, or reduce, capture, avoid, or sequester carbon dioxide, methane, or nitrous oxide emissions associated with agricultural production.” The bill removes these guardrails and allocates some funding to orphan conservation programs. In doing so, this bill may significantly slow our progress toward addressing the climate crisis. (Sec. 2501)
- Omits provisions from the Small Farm Conservation Act and the Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act. As written, the Chairman’s draft omits key provisions from the Small Farm Conservation Act and the Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act. Both of these bills would make it easier for young, beginning, small, and BIPOC farmers to access critical conservation funding to help them build resilience on their farms. The omission of key provisions from these bills means that underserved farmers will continue struggling to access USDA conservation resources.
GREEN FLAG
- Increases baseline for conservation programs. Chairman Thompson’s bill uses the Inflation Reduction Act funding to increase the baseline funding available for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, thus increasing the minimum amount of funding that must go towards conservation programs for each farm bill. Increasing the baseline is important because the minimum funding levels required for these bills are higher than before, paving the way for even more funds to reach these programs in future Farm Bills. (Sec. 2501)
YELLOW FLAG
- Authorizes a state and Tribal soil health matching program. The bill creates a matching grant program to fund states and Tribes to create and increase funding for their programs, as the Agriculture Resilience Act proposed. However, as written, the bill fund this at $100 million per year by taking money out of CSP, thus reducing the amount of money that can go towards CSP contracts. (Sec. 1240L–2)
Other Young Farmer Provision by Farm Bill Title
TITLE I: Commodities
RED FLAG
- Dramatically increases subsidies for commodity production, including a 10 to 20 percent increase to Price Loss Coverage program reference prices and a bump to revenue guarantees under the Agriculture Risk Coverage program. These reforms ignore that reference prices will increase this year and could cost up to $50 billion despite primarily benefiting just 0.3 percent of farmers. This is paired with alarming provisions that erode existing (if loophole-ridden) Title I payment limits and the Adjusted Gross Income means test through exemptions and adjustments for inflation rather than incorporate common-sense reforms to guarantee that only working farmers benefit from taxpayer dollars (Sec. 1101, 1103, 1105, 1604, 1605, 11005, 11006).
TITLE II: Conservation
The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 fell short of many provisions that would help young and beginning farmers implement on-farm conservation and build sustainability on their farms and communities. This farm bill is our best opportunity to make significant, lasting improvements to help our nation’s young farmers access conservation programs and advance climate-smart agriculture. Still, this bill fails to support the next generation of working farmers to do so. Below are some key highlights from the Conservation Title of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024.
RED FLAG
- Key changes to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The bill increases the minimum payment for CSP contracts to $2,500, but USDA recently increased the CSP minimum from $1,500 to $4,000. In effect, this ends up reducing the CSP contract minimum. (Sec. 2302)
GREEN FLAG
- Increases payments for high-priority practices within EQIP. The bill authorizes increased payments for practices within EQIP that increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, like methane or nitrous oxide,” incentivizing producers to implement climate-smart agriculture on their farms. (Sec. 2202)
YELLOW FLAG
- Adds “precision agriculture” to the Conservation Title and creates practices in EQIP. This bill defines precision agriculture as: “managing, tracking, or reducing crop or livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time, at a heightened level of spatial and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, and maintain environmental quality.” It adds provisions to allow for the creation of practices and funding available for precision agriculture in EQIP and CSP. The bill within EQIP allows up to 90% cost-share for precision agriculture practices. The environmental impact of precision agriculture is not yet understood, but it can potentially increase energy use and the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. It also requires high startup costs and conservation dollars will be stretched thin to incorporate such costly new practices. Conservation funds should focus on tried-and-true practices and farmer-led innovation that can be used by small- to mid-scale farmers who make up most of our farms and rural communities. (Sec. 2201, 2202, 2204, 2302, 2503, 6303)
TITLE IV: Nutrition
Chairman Thompson’s farm bill proposal significantly reduces SNAP benefits by an estimated $27 billion over the next decade. This substantial cut threatens the food security of millions of Americans and exacerbates the struggles of working families during a time of high food costs. Here are some key changes to the Nutrition Title in The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024.
RED FLAG
- Capping Increases to the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP): USDA uses the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) to calculate SNAP benefits. It is designed to reflect the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet at minimal cost. The changes to TFP in the bill will severely restrict USDA’s ability to update the, by only allowing for inflation and disregarding the evolving scientific understanding of a nutritious diet and other cost-driving factors. This limitation risks making SNAP benefits increasingly detached from the real costs and nutritional needs. By ignoring factors like dietary guidance changes and the real-world time constraints faced by working families, these adjustments threaten to undermine the food security of millions, particularly children whose health depends on access to a healthy diet. This approach negates recent progress made in 2021 to update the TFP, bringing a science-based and realistic approach to calculating SNAP benefits—and also risks regressing to outdated dietary standards that fail to support the well-being of American families. (Sec. 12401)
GREEN FLAG
- Impact on the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP): GusNIP has been crucial in supporting low-income people to access fresh fruits and vegetables through matching SNAP at participating farmers markets and other local food retailers. The bill would also transition the produce prescription program to the Department of Health and Human Services to enhance program integration with broader health initiatives, potentially increasing its impact. (Sec. 4306)
YELLOW FLAG
- GusNIP is modified to include all forms of fresh fruits and vegetables: The bill also amends GusNIP to incentivize all forms of fruits, vegetables, and legumes instead of “fresh fruits and vegetables”. While this could encourage ensuring year-round availability, significantly improving nutritional access and diversity for participants, this may also shift funds away from farmers to larger processors or retailers. We’ll be keeping an eye on this provision and supporting partners working directly on GusNIP. (Sec. 4306)
TITLE VI: Rural Development
GREEN FLAG
- Reaffirms commitment to vital rural development initiatives. The House Farm Bill reauthorizes several longstanding, small, but impactful rural development programs, such as the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas, Rural Business Development Grants, and Rural Cooperative Development Grants. However, there are few reforms offered to increase accessibility for these programs or to provide sufficient investment much needed in rural economies (Sec. 6422, 6314, 6410, 6411).
YELLOW FLAG
- Introduces a new loan program with uncertain benefits for small operators. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 includes the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program, yet, without defined priorities or target recipients, the program may inevitably lend itself to financing large-scale operations rather than serve as a new capital product for small, scaling, or new local operations (Sec. 6304).
TITLE VII: Research
RED FLAG
- Prioritizes precision agriculture over critical agroecological research. The precision agriculture and automation focus detracts from much-needed investments in farmer-led, scale-appropriate research. While we support research that directly contributes to “a reduction in, or improved efficiency of, inputs used in crop or livestock production the concern,” a new focus on automation and precision agriculture research may shift funds away from diversified systems, and incentive industrial-scale monoculture agriculture. This approach is misguided, given the ample evidence that scale-neutral, management-intensive practices likely yield even greater environmental benefits. USDA funding should be directed toward building an understanding of the ecological aspects of our food and farm systems and integrating the diverse knowledge and practices of agroecological farmers and farm workers rather than continuing to explore and promote the narrow constraints of industrial agriculture (Sec. 7125, 7204, 7208, 7305, 7503).
GREEN FLAG
- Significantly enhances support for 1890s Land Grant Institutions. The bill provides important investments in 1890s Land Grant Institutions, including increasing mandatory funding for the 1890s Scholarship program to $100 million (Sec. 7111, 7114, 7208).
YELLOW FLAGS
- Maintains key sustainability and organic research programs without increased funding. While it meets the low bar of reauthorizing popular sustainable and organic research programs like the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 does not include additional funding for either program. As USDA’s only farmer-driven, sustainable agriculture competitive research grant program, SARE provides farmers and researchers with vital opportunities to understand agricultural systems better, increase profitability, and build resilience to climate change. OREI is one of the limited research, education, and extension programs that support organic systems. Strong investments in research underpin growth in any sector, as all farmers – sustainable, organic, conventional, or otherwise – rely on cutting-edge research to maintain robust and thriving operations (Sec. 7201, 7205).
- Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Program (FOTO): The bill continues funding the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach program (to provide outreach and assistance to farmers of color and fund beginning farmer training) and shifts its oversight to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, ensuring sustained and expertly managed support for new and underserved farmers. However, the changes maintain funding, ignoring the input from many farmers and farming organizations about necessary increases to funding. Although these changes promise continued funding and stability, the bill misses an opportunity to enhance the program’s capacity to deliver effective training and resources essential for fostering a new generation of farmers equipped to tackle modern agricultural challenges. (Sec. 7210)
TITLE X: Horticulture and Organic
RED FLAG
- Insufficient support for organic farming initiatives. The bill contains inadequate overall support for organic despite some elements of the Organic Transition Initiative that is seen in the Opportunities in Organic Act (H.R.3650, S.1582) being included. The bill gives the National Organic Program (NOP) the authority to provide technical assistance (TA) to support transition, but with no additional funding for TA. This increases the burden on an already underfunded program. Moreover, it eliminates the Organic Market Development Grant Program and lacks necessary improvements to NOP to promote a more transparent and predictable process for developing organic standards. Additional funding to provide technical assistance, education, and outreach to certified organic farmers and farmers transitioning to organic certification is critical for the continued growth of organic systems that emphasize soil health and help farmers and ranchers increase resilience to the impacts of climate change (Sec. 10105).
YELLOW FLAG
- Expands access to local food systems but lacks sufficient funding. The bill includes a variety of bipartisan provisions that improve access and program offerings for local and regional food system networks, particularly through the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Programs and the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. While these reforms would increase the accessibility of these popular programs, tailor technical assistance, and expand investment options for essential equipment, no additional funding is offered to meet the staggering demand (Sec. 10102, 10004).
TITLE XI: Crop Insurance
RED FLAGS
- Bill misses crucial reforms for crop insurance access. The bill fails to meet the moment with meaningful reforms that would alleviate bureaucratic red tape and streamline access to crop insurance for the small, diversified, and direct-to-consumer farmers and ranchers who are left behind. It requires an annual review of challenges to access Whole-Farm Revenue Protection, but those barriers and corresponding solutions are already well-documented – including in a USDA-contracted study already required by the 2018 Farm Bill (Sec. 11015).
- Bill favors commodity farms over diversified agriculture in safety net expansion. Rather than meaningfully expanding access to the farm safety net, the bill enhances insurance benefits for commodity farms enrolled in a highly subsidized supplemental product by raising its coverage, increasing its premium discounts, and lowering the loss threshold necessary to claim a payout. While it requires some producers to choose between the sweetened insurance or Title I benefits, non-cotton producers may still benefit from both supplemental insurance and the Price Loss Coverage program (Sec. 11005, 11006).
YELLOW FLAGS
- Expands premium discounts for new farmers but lacks foundational reforms. The bill expands premium discounts offered to beginning and veteran farmers; however, this will have minimal impact if it is not paired with more foundational reforms to streamline paperwork and address the disincentive agents’ experience to sell insurance to small and diversified farms. Private insurance companies would see a considerable infusion of public dollars under this bill, including $50 million in “relief.” Yet even incentives to ensure added specialty crop plans are poised to serve only industrial specialty crop farms (Sec. 11008, 11010).
- Establishes a specialty crop advisory committee to ensure the unique perspectives of the specialty crop industry has a seat at the table for policy development and expansion of crop insurance products. The bill gives the group the ability to prioritize crop insurance research and development and influence education and outreach regarding crop insurance for specialty crop policies and producers. This is a helpful step in developing and improving risk management policies for specialty crops and diversified producers. However, the administration of the group will determine if it leads to actual improvements in crop insurance products for diversified farmers and local and regional food systems. (Sec. 11008, 11010)
TITLE XII: Miscellaneous
RED FLAG
- Weakens existing barrier to monopolistic structures in the meat industry. Current regulations state that there is a bright line separating ownership interests of packers and market agencies. Section 12111 of the bill would largely remove this standing barrier to further consolidation in the meat industry, thus further eroding free market options for livestock producers. (Sec. 12111)
YELLOW FLAGS
- Limited support for small to medium meat and poultry processors but with accessibility concerns. The bill provides limited funding for grants and resources for small- to medium-sized meat and poultry processors to expand processing capacity through equipment upgrades. The already limited funding is made even less accessible by including state departments of agriculture and public land grant universities as eligible entities, despite these entities often already having these facilities or the budgetary capacity to pursue them. This draft does not recognize the continued need for this capacity-building and that it is best targeted toward those rural and underserved communities that most need processing expansion (Sec 6305, Sec 12112).
- Improves outreach but lacks critical changes for small meat processors. While the bill does provide for further outreach to state departments of agriculture regarding the Cooperative Interstate Shipping Program, it does not change the federal cost share for that program or the state meat and poultry inspection programs – both of which are key changes needed for the federal food safety regulations to better work with and regulate small and very small meat processors (Sec. 12113).