Issue directory: Farm Bill 2007
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Farm Bill is Lost Opportunity

Farm Bill The 2008 Farm Bill continues a path of deregulation that has increased market volatility to the benefit of global food companies. IATP comments on the Farm Bill conference agreement of May 13.

USDA Revenue Proposal Falls Short

A USDA proposal for the Farm Bill attempts to comply with WTO rules��??but could weaken farmers' protections from natural disasters.

IATP's Farm Bill Bottom Line

Find out what IATP thinks about some of the key Farm Bill proposals on the table.

MN Senators Asked to Support Competition

Minnesota farm groups wrote the state's Senators asking that they support livestock market reforms in the 2007 Farm Bill.

Sustainability in the Farm Bill

This week, the Senate will vote on amendments to the Farm Bill. IATP and 90 other groups are asking Senators to support sustainable bioenergy crop production.

A Fair Farm Bill for Taxpayers

A smarter Farm Bill would bring a greater return on investment for family farmers, the environment, and public health.

Call for Commodity Program Reform

Farm, environmental, faith and labor groups are calling for new Farm Bill commodity programs to set fair prices, reduce subsidies and manage supply.

Farm Bill could Hamstring State Food Safety

Over 40 groups, including IATP, oppose a Farm Bill provision that would wipe out state and local authority to protect food safety, the environment, and humane animal treatment.

Sustainable Bioenergy Key for Farm Bill

Twelve groups including IATP say sustainable bioenergy is key to any strategy to reduce oil dependence and help solve global warming.

Cheap Feed Crops Subsidize Industrial Animal Factories

corn Farmers suffer while multinationals win big thanks to low commodity prices. Based on new Tufts University research on implicit subsidies, IATP's Dennis Olson shows how agribusiness reaps major gains at the expense of American farmers and taxpayers.

Building Sustainable Futures

Tractors IATP has joined 60 organizations to launch a new platform based on food sovereignty for the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill under the campaign Building Sustainable Futures for Farmers Globally.

The U.S. Farm Bill leaves a huge footprint on the U.S. and the world. As Washington gears up for the debate, IATP analyzes what's at stake.

A Fair Farm Bill for AmericaA Fair Farm Bill for America PDF: How Americans are effected everyday by the Farm Bill—from energy and health to the environment, labor and hunger.

A Fair Farm Bill for the WorldA Fair Farm Bill for the World PDF: The Farm Bill's influence over world policies is colossal—the WTO, food aid, market concentration and public health may all change.

A Fair Farm Bill for Renewable EnergyA Fair Farm Bill for Renewable Energy PDF: The Farm Bill should support the next generation of sustainable energy crops and strengthen local ownership

A Fair Farm Bill for the World's HungryA Fair Farm Bill for the World's Hungry PDF: The Farm Bill could make food aid more efficient and stop pushing farmers in poor countries off the land

A Fair Farm Bill for Competitive MarketsA Fair Farm Bill for Competitive Markets PDF: The Farm Bill should address the domination of agricultural markets by a few big companies.

A Fair Farm Bill for Public HealthA Fair Farm Bill for Public Health PDF: The U.S. Farm Bill could do a lot to support a healthier food system.

A Fair Farm Bill and ImmigrationA Fair Farm Bill and Immigration PDF: A fair Farm Bill would help family farmers in Mexico and the United States.

A Fair Farm Bill for ConservationA Fair Farm Bill for Conservation PDF: A better Farm Bill would do more to support farmers who improve soil and water quality, and enhance biodiversity.

DocumentsHeadlines

Vilsack's Big Shoes

Feb 6, 2009
Barack Obama’s new Secretary of Agriculture, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, will have some big shoes to fill when he enters the office. The last Iowan to serve as head of the USDA, Henry Wallace, was by far the greatest Secretary of Agriculture in our nation’s history. Download

Farmer in Chief

Oct 12, 2008
Dear Mr. President-Elect, It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food. Food policy is not something American presidents have had to give much thought to, at least since the Nixon administration — the last time high food prices presented a serious political peril. Since then, federal policies to promote maximum production of the commodity crops (corn, soybeans, wheat and rice) from which most of our supermarket foods are derived have succeeded impressively in keeping prices low and food more or less off the national political agenda. But with a suddenness that has taken us all by surprise, the era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close. What this means is that you, like so many other leaders through history, will find yourself confronting the fact — so easy to overlook these past few years — that the health of a nation’s food system is a critical issue of national security. Food is about to demand your attention. Download

10 Myths From the Mainstream Media on U.S. Farm Policy

Jun 12, 2008
The mainstream media often misunderstands how farm policy works in the real world. Download

10 Myths From the Mainstream Media About Farm Policy

Jun 1, 2008
Created for the 2008 National Conference for Media Reform. Ten common farm policy misconceptions. Download

Child Labor Monitoring and Verification Program for Agricultural Imports

May 26, 2008
The Managers report explained the purpose of Sec. 3205 of the farm bill as s the development of “a voluntary, third-party certification effort is designed to reduce the likelihood that products produced with forced labor or child labor are imported into the United States as directed in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2005." Download

More Farm Bill documents

May. 24: Getting Ethanol Right New York Times

May. 22: Don’t Overlook Biomass Stimulus in Farm Bill Biomass Magazine

May. 11: Obama budget riles farm groups Delta Farm Press

May. 8: Organic farmers to get piece of Farm Bill pie Mother Nature Network

May. 8: Kay Hagan Sponsors Bill To Help Discriminated Farmers DigTriad

More Farm Bill headlines

IATP's view

The 2007 Farm Bill is an historic opportunity to build a food system that supports family farmers, healthier food, a better environment, fair trade, and energy security.

  • Reforming farm commodity programs would ensure fair prices for farmers.
  • A sustainable bioenergy program would revitalize rural communities and lessen our dependence on oil.
  • More support for local food systems would help rural communities, the environment and public health.
  • Increased funding for perennial crops and conservation programs would help the environment.
  • And reforming the food aid program, while reducing export dumping of cheap commodities, would benefit small-scale farmers around the world.
Farm Bill resources

U.S. capitol buildingUSDA Farm Bill papers
U.S. Department of Agriculture issued five briefing papers on the next farm bill debate.

A new approach
The National Family Farm Coalition, representing groups in 30 states, has its proposal for the 2007 Farm Bill.

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