February 23, Dear House and Senate Agriculture Committee Leadership:

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1 For more information contact Lorette Picciano, Rural Coalition at or ; Katherine Ozer, National Family Farm Coalition at Juli Obudzinski, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition at or Aisha Amuda, Community Food Security Coalition at February 23, 2012 The Honorable Debbie Stabenow Chairwoman Senate Agriculture Committee The Honorable Pat Roberts Ranking Member Senate Agriculture Committee The Honorable Frank Lucas Chairman House Agriculture Committee The Honorable Collin Peterson Ranking Member House Agriculture Committee Dear House and Senate Agriculture Committee Leadership: The undersigned groups, representing millions of farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, businesses and consumers, write to express our strong support for Congress to complete the reauthorization of the farm bill in We seek a 2012 Farm Bill that increases economic opportunity for family fishermen, farmers and ranchers -- including socially disadvantaged, beginning and limited resource farmers and ranchers-- farmworkers, Indian Tribes, and rural communities, while protecting the environment and ensuring proper nutrition for all families and communities. Each of our organizations has recommendations for the farm bill and the agriculture budget that extend beyond the specific issues included in this letter, but we focus here on equity and access issues that are at the core of expanding participation in the farm and food system. For years we have struggled to achieve a fairer share of federal farm spending and with your support have made significant strides forward, progress that we hope will continue in the upcoming reauthorization of the farm bill. We were pleased with elements of the draft farm bill recommendations prepared for the Joint Select Deficit Reduction Committee last fall, including but not limited to increased funding for community food projects, local food systems infrastructure, healthy food incentives for SNAP recipients, and the continuing support for 1890 and 1994 Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic Serving Institutions. However, we were discouraged to find many important programs, including several that directly address issues of equity and access, shortchanged or omitted in the process of allocating resources last fall. As you continue farm bill deliberations this year, we urge you to assure adequate direct farm bill funding is included for a critical set of programs charged with serving and creating economic opportunities for historically underserved segments of agriculture. While constituting a small fraction of the full agriculture budget the programs are the lifeblood for Indian Tribes, socially disadvantaged, beginning and veteran producers, farmworkers and rural communities. In order to

2 assure fairness and balance in the final Farm package, the following should not be allowed to expire or contract. Socially Disadvantaged and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers: We urge you to renew support for the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Program and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program at $25 million annually for each program, and maintain other related policies and programs to support this sector of agriculture. Tribal Communities: We urge you to continue to support the Office of Tribal Relations Program and to provide farm bill funding of $10 million annually in the Research Title for the Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program to provide critically needed services to tribal producers. This would allow the program to expand from reaching just 32 Indian Tribes to at least 100 of the 565 Tribes. Farmworker Communities: The Grants to Improve the Agricultural Labor Workforce Program should be reauthorized and made mandatory with funding of at least $4 million annually. In order to maintain critically needed workforces in disaster affected areas, the Emergency Disaster Grants for Farmworkers program should be amended to include a standing fund of $5 million with authority for replenishment to provide funding for services to farmworkers affected by natural disasters. In addition to retaining the programs directed at assuring real access by historically underserved segments of agriculture, we would also call special attention to programs with mandatory spending under the current farm bill that are important to our communities. We urge you to support substantial mandatory funding for: Rural Micro-entrepreneur Assistance Program; Value-Added Producer Grants; National Organic Certification Cost Share Program; Rural Energy for America Program; and Biomass Crop Assistance Program. We particularly want to recognize progress made in the package drafted for the Joint Select Committee in retaining the critical set-asides and reduced cost shares in the conservation title that have increased opportunity for socially disadvantaged, beginning, and limited resource farmers and ranchers. We encourage you to expand access in the areas of specialty crops, community food, energy, and research programs by applying similar tools, including reduced cost share, match, and set-aside provisions. We will also be sharing our additional recommendations for policy revisions relevant to these communities that should be included in the 2012 Farm Bill. These include measures contained in legislation that have already been introduced by champions on the Hill or which will be introduced shortly, and which deal specifically with socially disadvantaged, local food production and access, nutrition, and beginner farmer and rancher issues. We urge you to include these policy changes in the new farm bill and we look forward to working with you and your staff on these matters. As you proceed with your farm policy deliberations, we urge you to make all funding and policy recommendations relative to farm bill programs with an eye toward the future, a concern for the 2

3 next generations of American farmers and ranchers, and great care to include women, minority, tribal and limited resource farmers. These individuals have much to contribute to their communities and rural and agricultural economies, but their ability to sustain their jobs, farms, and communities is based on fair policies and proper support. Thank you for your consideration of our views. Sincerely, AFGE Local 3354, St. Louis, MO Agricultural Missions Inc, New York, NY Alliance for a Just Society, Seattle, WA Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters, Albany, CA American Farmland Trust, Washington, DC American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO), Washington, DC American Sustainable Business Council, Washington, DC Ashoka's Youth Venture, Oakland, CA Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota, Maplewood, MN Bay Localize, Oakland, CA Black Farmers Agricultural Associates of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, AR Bon Secours New York Health System, New York, NY CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, New York, NY California Climate and Agriculture Network, Sacramento, CA California Farmers Union, Turlock, CA California Food and Justice Coalition, Oakland, CA Carver Integrative Sustainability Center, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL CASA del Llano, Inc., Hereford, TX Center for African Heritage, Portland, ME Center for Resilient Cities, Milwaukee, WI Center for Rural Affairs, Lyons, NE Church Women United of New York State, Rochester, NY Colectivo Flatlander, Houston, TX Community Aid and Development, Jackson, MS Community Alliance for Global Justice, Seattle, WA Community Food Security Coalition, Portland, OR Crossroads Community Food Network, Takoma Park, MD D.C. Farm to School Network, Washington, DC Dakota Rural Action, Brookings, SD Delta Land and Community, Almyra, AR Design Studio for Social Intervention, Boston, MA Earthworks Urban Farm, Detroit, MI Economic Development Corporation of Manitowoc County, Manitowoc County, WI Environmental Justice Climate Change Initiative, Washington, DC Fair Food Matters, Kalamazoo, MI Fair Food Network, Ann Arbor, MI 3

4 Family Farm Defenders, Madison, WI Farm Aid, Cambridge, MA Farmworker Association of Florida, Apopka, FL Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, Uniontown, PA FED UP, Chicago, IL Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund, East Point, GA Florida Immigrant, Miami, FL Florida Organic Growers, Gainesville, FL Food and Water Watch, Washington, DC Food Shift, Oakland, CA Food System Economic Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI Foundation for Urban and Neighborhood Development, Denver, CO Four Seasons Produce Cooperative, Charlotte, MI Fuerza Mundial/Hitec Aztec Communication, Santa Maria, CA Grassroots International, Boston, MA Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council, Grand Rapids, MI Green For All, Washington, DC Hampshire College, Amherst, MA Healthy Dining Chicago, La Grange, IL Houston United, Houston, TX Hunger Action Network of New York State, New York, NY Idaho Community Action Network, Boise, ID Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Springfield, IL Independent Advocate, Annandale, VA Indian People Action, Butte, MT Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minneapolis, MN Intertribal Agriculture Council, Billings, MT Iowa Farmers Union, Ames, IA Island Grown Initiative, Vineyard Haven, MA Just Food, New York, NY Kansas Rural Center, Whiting, KS Land Stewardship Project, Minneapolis, MN Latino Leadership Alliance, Bristol, PA League of Rural Voters, Minneapolis, MN Little City Gardens-Urban Farm, San Francisco, CA Live Real, Oakland, CA Local Matters, Columbus, OH Los Jardines Institute, Albuquerque, NM Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), Chicago, IL Massachusetts Avenue Project, Buffalo, NY Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, East Troy, WI Michigan Land Trustees, Lawrence, MI Michigan Land Use Institute, Traverse City, MI Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance, East Lansing, MI 4

5 Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Columbia, MO National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Des Moines, IA National Family Farm Coalition, Washington, DC National Hispanic Environmental Council, Alexandria, VA National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association, Washington, DC National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Washington, DC National Wildlife Federation, Washington, DC National Women In Agriculture Association, Oklahoma City, OK National Young Farmer's Coalition, Tivoli, NY North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project, Durham, NC Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, Deerfield, MA Northeast Organic Farming Association, Stevenson, CT Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, New Paltz, NY Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, Eugene, OR Northwest Farm Bill Action Group, Seattle, WA Northwest Michigan Agriculture and Food Sector Alliance, Traverse City, MI Northwest Michigan Food and Farming Network, Traverse City, MI Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, Columbus, OH Ohio Environmental Council, Columbus, OH Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK Organic Farming Research Foundation, Santa Cruz, CA Other Worlds, New Orleans, LA PCC Farmland Trust, Seattle, WA Pesticide Action Network, San Francisco, CA Planting Justice, Oakland, CA Public Health Law and Policy, Oakland, CA Real Food Challenge, Dorchester, MA Research, Education, Action and Policy on Food Group (REAP), Madison, WI Resource Center, Chicago, IL Rooted In Community, Berkeley, CA Rural Action Sustainable Agriculture, Trimble, OH Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA (RAFI-USA), Pittsboro, NC Rural Advancement Fund, Orangeburg, SC Rural American Network, Estancia, NM Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural, Washington, DC Rural Development Leadership Network, New York, NY Rural Vermont, Montpelier, VT Safe Streets/Strong Communities, New Orleans, LA School Food FOCUS National Office, New York, NY Slow Food Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH Slow Food USA, New York, NY SNAP Gardens, New York, NY Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Fayetteville, AR Southern Partners Fund, Atlanta, GA 5

6 Taos County Economic Development Corporation, Taos, NM The Center for Popular Research, Education and Policy, Oakland, CA The CSA Coalition, Madison, WI The Praxis Project, Washington, DC Tilth Producers of Washington, Seattle, WA Town of Atrisco Grant-Merced, Albuquerque, NM United Farmers USA, Manning, SC Veggielution, San Jose, CA Virginia Association for Biological Farming, Lexington, VA War on Poverty, Jacksonville, FL Well Spring Community Services, Inc., Boley, OK West Side Campaign Against Hunger, New York, NY WhyHunger, New York, NY World Farmers, Lancaster, MA cc: Members of the House Committee on Agriculture Members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 6