Senate Farm Bill Committee Draft Reflects Young Farmer Needs
Senate introduces farm bill draft with the Young Farmer Agenda in mind
On Friday afternoon, the Senate Agriculture Committee released its long-awaited draft of the 2018 Farm Bill. In stark contrast to the hyper-partisan approach of their House counterparts, Senate Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) offered a bipartisan alternative, the product of months of negotiations and consensus-building. The result is a bill that, despite a challenging fiscal and political climate, contains significant wins for young farmers and ranchers.
House farm bill makes key land access investments, but misses big opportunities
NYFC policy staff continues to dig into the House farm bill, H.R. 2. Read our previous posts on the overall analysis of the bill, as well as its potential impact for young farmers in the West.
Across the country, climbing land prices have made it increasingly difficult for farmers to afford land. The challenge of land access for young farmers is so widespread and acute, in fact, that NYFC has an entire team dedicated to it. The farm bill, reauthorized by Congress every five years, can help, or hinder, young farmers’ ability to access land.
Rogue Farm Corps Recruits Aspiring Farmers for their Hands-on Education and Mentoring Programs
Farming is a tough business, and beginning farmers need hands-on experience and mentoring before they can successfully take on a commercial operation. Finding that experience and mentoring can be a significant challenge, and it’s at the heart of why Rogue Farm Corps (RFC) was created. The Oregon-based nonprofit was founded in 2003 by first generation […]
CLF Offers New Legal Resource for New England Farmers
The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), a non-profit environmental advocacy group based in New England, is piloting a new resource project for farmers: the New England Legal Services Food Hub. The problem that CLF hopes to solve with the Legal Services Food Hub is an important and widespread issue; many farmers and food entrepreneurs are forced […]
Take Action Now to Help Independent Livestock Producers
Independent meat producers and farmers everywhere need your help right now to defeat some terrible language that was included in the Senate’s Continuing Resolution. As Wes reported earlier today, the Senate’s bill to fund government programs through the rest of 2013 (known as a Continuing Resolution) includes two provisions that support large meat industries and […]
California's Prop 37, a primer
With the defeat of Prop 37 in last week’s election, a long campaign battle in California has drawn to a close—for now. According to Ballotpedia, the proposition’s outline is as follows: “If Proposition 37 has been approved, it would have: Required labeling on raw or processed food offered for sale to consumers if the food […]
LLCs and Operating Agreements: Should a farmer go to the trouble?
LLCs are easy to form and very flexible. Because of this, writing an operating agreement can help a farmer think through all the details of how to address investments, profits, and losses. Good bookkeeping is also important to optimize a farm’s tax situation. What’s the situation? Farmer Espen formed his business as an LLC so […]
LL-See how easy it is?
Farmers have the option to form their business as a limited liability company, an entity that offers liability protection to the farmer’s personal assets. Filing is fairly easy after you learn a few key words in the Articles of Organization. What’s the situation? We have a friend named Espen. Espen has years of intern experience […]
FSA Announces Major Changes in Farm Loan Handbook
Today, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) notified the National Young Farmers’ Coalition of changes in their loan handbook that will make it easier for the nation’s young farmers to qualify for farm loans. This is a major win for the coalition, as we’ve been advocating for more leniency in farm loan rules to accomodate the […]
The legal line between farm business and farmer
Farming is a business and a way of life. But, if a farmer is expecting liability protection for her personal assets, she might want to keep the distinction between personal and business matters clear, at least when it comes to accounting. What’s the situation? After pondering how risky a farming career can be, and the […]