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UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
Sustainable Agriculture Newsletter
Fall 2005 (v17n3)

Sustainable agriculture in the 2007 Farm Bill

By Bev Ransom, UC SAREP

The Farm Bill, omnibus federal legislation that addresses food and agriculture, has vast impact on agriculture both here and throughout the world. Because it is scheduled for reauthorization in 2007, now is an important time to look at the results of current Farm Bill policies, and how changes may impact communities. Additionally, it is likely the U.S. will be required to make changes to income support programs to comply with international trade agreements. Thus, it may be possible for the next Farm Bill to offer a greater level of support for farmers and communities shifting to more sustainable agriculture and food systems.


Use of insectary crops like fennel on an organic farm in the Salinas Valley is a practice that may be supported in future farm bills. (photo by Robert L. Bugg)

The Farm Bill dates back to 1933, when the New Deal attempted to address a collapsing farm economy. Farm bill appropriations support food and nutrition programs such as food stamps and subsidized school lunches, commodity subsidy programs, and funding for agricultural research, extension, conservation and other environmental incentives for farmers. More than half of the Farm Bill budget is used for food and nutrition programs. The Farm Bill does not encompass all farm policy issues; several topics such as crop insurance, tariffs, marketing orders, environmental regulations, and farm labor laws are handled separately. The last Farm Bill was enacted in 2002; farm bills are traditionally revised every four to six years.

In June 2005, several California nonprofit food, agriculture and environmental groups came together at a workshop organized by the California Coalition for Food and Farming to learn more about the Farm Bill. Keynote speaker A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, called the Farm Bill "an investment in society," and said it is the responsibility of the nation to secure the health and welfare of U.S. citizens. Other workshop speakers described their priorities for Farm Bill reform, including increased support for:

  • conservation and land stewardship practices,
  • research and outreach on organic farming and sustainable agriculture, and
  • linking food and nutrition programs with local agriculture.

Significant efforts toward a more sustainable agriculture system have been included in previous farm bills. The last Farm Bill, the "2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act," included several funding programs in the conservation section (Title II) that focused on environmental concerns such as wetlands restoration on agricultural lands, ground and surface water conservation, improved wildlife habitat, restoration and preservation of grassland, and watershed rehabilitation. This section included the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which provides costshare and incentive payments to producers for environmental and conservation improvements on farms and the Conservation Security Program, which provides incentive payments for environmental stewardship through the adoption of specific management practices. Unfortunately, with the current budget deficit, many Farm Bill programs could not be fully implemented due to diminished funding levels allocated during the appropriations process.

The research section (Title VII) of the last Farm Bill, in addition to providing funds for land grant institutions such as the University of California and Agricultural Experiment Stations, also reauthorized competitive grant programs through the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems and the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. It also provided additional funding for research on organic farming.

Other sections of the last Farm Bill that addressed sustainability issues included the Farmers' Market Nutrition Programs and Community Food Security Grants in the nutrition section (Title IV); funds for on-farm renewable energy systems in the energy section (Title IX); and the specialty crop purchasing program for school lunches and service institutions, organic certification costshare program, and country-of-origin labeling program included in the miscellaneous provisions of Title X.

Commodity subsidy programs (Title I) are under increasing criticism from many sources as the Farm Bill's scheduled reauthorization approaches. Most regular subsidies have been limited to particular crops such as wheat, feed grains, cotton, rice, soybeans, other oilseeds, and milk. Except for relatively small ad hoc disaster assistance and some special provisions of marketing orders, most fruits, vegetables, nuts and other "specialty crops" grown by many California farmers aren't eligible for commodity subsidies. The current structure of commodity payments has resulted in criticism that there is unequal access to government support based on the type of crops, and that the distribution of commodity payments is skewed to larger scale farms (since payments are roughly proportional to production). For example, 10 percent of those receiving subsidies between 1995 and 2003 received 72 percent of the funding. U.S. subsidy programs have also been successfully challenged in the World Trade Organization as inconsistent with international trade agreements. It has also been suggested that subsidized crops affect global market prices and disadvantage farmers in developing countries.

The public has a stake in how food is grown and in making sure that all citizens have access to healthy food. The policies that emanate from the next Farm Bill will affect the well-being of U.S. citizens and the environment for several generations. Now is a good time to become more familiar with the Farm Bill and participate in discussions about a more sustainable agriculture. The USDA is currently inviting comments regarding the 2007 Farm Bill on its Web site at: www.usda.gov/farmbill. To add comments, click on "Farm Bill 2007 Official Comments" on the right.

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