At Virtual Fly-In, Farmers, Ranchers, and Rural Advocates Urge Washington D.C. for a Fair Farm Bill

Over the first three days of November, a coalition of farmers, ranchers, and rural advocates met virtually with more than 20 Congressional and Administrative offices to share their vision for a fair farm bill. Family Farm Action organized the event, identifying four areas in which the 2023 package of food and agriculture policies will need to change in order to help create a fair, inclusive, and competitive food system.

Hailing from states across the country, the group’s members illustrated what it’s like to work and live within a concentrated food and agriculture system controlled by only a handful of corporations, as well as the harms inflicted by industrial agriculture operations. “It’s a struggle to survive out here for small and midsize family farms,” said Chris Petersen of Iowa in a meeting with Senator Booker’s office. “A fair farm bill will give us a fighting chance in the marketplace.”

Dr. JohnElla Holmes, President and Executive Director of the Kansas Black Farmers Association, illustrated the devastating land loss she’s seen in her farming community of Nicodemus Kansas and told Senator Marshall’s staff that “a fair farm bill is paramount for our survival, and will help Black farmers hold on to their land.”

In a meeting with USDA Under Secretary Moffitt and Deputy Under Secretary Wu, Al Davis of Nebraska said that “the thinness of markets in the cattle industry has resulted in a significant decline in the rancher’s share of the retail dollar. If we want to revitalize rural America, we need to address that situation rapidly.”

Discussing the need for fair markets with Senator Hawley’s office, Barbara Ross of Missouri said, “I have watched the small towns of Missouri hollow out because there are no opportunities there. People need to be able to engage in agriculture without being under the thumb of some corporation.”

On Wednesday the 3rd of November, the group discussed their shared commitment to farmers and rural America with the Senate Agriculture Committee staff, which will have significant influence over farm bill language. Other Congressional meetings included those with the offices of Senators Lee, Tester, Grassley, Bennet, Brown, Merkley, Durbin, Hickenlooper, Wyden, Moran, and Fischer; additionally, the group met with staff from the offices of Representatives Pocan, Kuster, Estes, Mann, and Smith.

Family Farm Action and its affiliated farmers, ranchers, and advocates will continue to collaborate with these and other decision-makers toward a more fair farm bill in 2023.

Family Farm Action is a coalition of farmers, workers, and local businesses building the political muscle to take on abusive corporate monopoly power. We take the fight to our capitols and the ballot box supporting policies to build a sustainable, inclusive economy in which everyone has the right to share in the prosperity they help build and that respects our land, natural resources, and neighbors around the world.