Last Month, Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), published a detailed preview of the Senate draft Farm Bill, the “Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024.” This proposal is a step forward toward a final bill, and in centering the needs of young and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) farmers and ranchers across the country in federal farm policy.
Tomorrow, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee will be hosting a hearing called “Pathways to Farming: Helping the Next Generation of Farmers.” Young Farmers member and Land Stewardship Project advocate, Tessa Parks, will be testifying.
Tessa is a first-generation farmer, and she and her partner, Wyatt, raise Holstein calves in the southern Minnesota town of Northfield. Tessa says, “At the root of the advocacy is making space for myself, and then wanting to make sure that space doesn’t diminish and actually keeps growing and recognizes all the other farmers who haven’t had the same opportunities I’ve been afforded.”
We are energized that the Subcommittee will be hosting this important hearing to hear from young farmers about their needs and priorities. We hope to see many connections between the provisions outlined by the Chairwoman, and the needs expressed over and over again by our coalition.
As Senate Agriculture Committee members have their attention on the Farm Bill priorities of the new generation, this is a crucial opportunity to take action. We encourage you to use our Farm Bill Action Toolkits to get the attention of your members of Congress about our land access, climate and conservation, and farmer-to-farmer education priorities. And make sure you’ve taken our campaign actions on our Farm Bill Hub.
Your members of Congress are listening–make your voices heard!
You can stream the hearing on the Senate Agriculture Committee’s website at 2:30pm ET tomorrow, Tuesday, June 4.