There’s a new bill circulating Washington D.C. It’s called the Office of Small Farms Establishment Act, and it would increase support for farmers and foresters with small-acreage operations.
Wisconsin Farmers Union is among the supporters of the bill.
The new office would be within the USDA, focused on ensuring those operations have equitable access to the critical federal programs that provide farm loans, conservation funding and crop insurance.
“The pandemic showed how vital small farms are to the resilience of our food system,” says Tim Fink, policy director at American Farmland Trust. “Small farms play an outsized role in the country’s food security, but they do not receive the support that they need from the federal government. This office will help to level the playing field.”
Small farms cover 8 percent of agricultural land, but are responsible for 20 percent of all agricultural sales, according to the news release on the bill. According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, small-acreage farms make up nearly three quarters of the nation’s agricultural operations, but they only get 12 percent of government payments.
“This bill is really about ensuring equitable access to the full range of essential support that Congress and USDA already provide to producers through Farm Bill programs,” says Fink.
The Office of Small Farms Establishment Act tasks the office with:
— Assessing the needs of small-acreage operations
— Providing or coordinating technical assistance and/or grants of up to $25,000 to small-acreage operations
— Operating an anonymous hotline for small-acreage operations to report challenges accessing USDA assistance
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