Preliminary thoughts: 2007 Farm Bill

The 2007 House-passed Farm Bill is an important piece of legislation dealing with agricultural policy that affects the lives of farmers and consumers alike. Additionally, and more to the point, the Farm Bill has important implications for the continuing fight against injustice and discrimination towards Black farmers who farm under USDA guidelines. Although the 2007 Farm Bill attempts to increase aid to socially disadvantaged farmers, most see the bill as a colossal disappointment. The EWG statement (http://www.mulchblog.com/2007/08/ewg_statement_on_house_farm_bi.php)
regarding the Farm Bill sums it up nicely by stating that it will be remembered as a “missed opportunity for reform of federal farm policies that are broken at their core.” This missed opportunity includes the chance to adequately acknowledge and correct the inequities in USDA policies in dealing with black farmers.

Link to the Farm Bill: http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/2007FarmBill.html

Check out this summary found at the Environmental Working Group web page from earlier this week: http://www.ewg.org/node/25509.

More on this later from the team as we read responses to the bill from around the country.

Sarah Hugman