Last week, Senator Debbie Stabenow, head of the US Senate Agriculture Committee, and House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor both firmly expressed that a Farm Bill would be passed in the lame-duck session after the election. 

During a campaign stop on Boise, ID, Cantor said that he had delayed action before the recess, which began earlier this fall, because they didn’t have enough votes to pass either the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill (the Senate had passed its version in June) or the version that came out of the House Agriculture Committee.  218 votes would be needed in order to pass either bill.  However, Cantor stated while campaigning for fellow Rep. Raul Labrador, “I’m committed to bring the issue to the floor and then to see a way forward so we can get the votes to pass.”

Senator Stabenow responded soon afterward that she is pleased with Cantor’s statement, saying that   “America’s farmers, ranchers, small businesses and 16 million Americans employed in agriculture desperately need the certainty and disaster relief the Farm Bill provides.”

This means that there are only a few weeks to gather the landslide of grassroots momentum needed to make sure the bill that’s passed is the best Farm Bill for the next generation of farmers and ranchers.  Please take a moment to sign on to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition petition calling for a fair farm bill now.  We need investment in farms, food, and people; we need to protect the air, soil and water; and we need to level the subsidies playing field.  

Let’s have 50,000 signatures waiting on their desks when they get back: Sign the NSAC petition today.