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Food and Farm

Agriculture is a critical part of Oregon's economy. From berries to beef and nursery products, family farmers, and ranchers are keeping working lands in production, restoring soil health, and supporting a diverse crop market. At the same time, farmers are facing new and increasing pressures from climate change, urban sprawl, rising costs, and shrinking water resources. Earl has long believed that current agricultural policy spends too much money supporting large corporations, doesn't adequately help the majority of small and midsize farmers, and subsidizes manufactured food at the expense of fresh, healthy food.

The Farm Bill is the most important bill that most Americans have never heard of. It impacts our economy, environment, and what we eat. Earl is working to make the Farm Bill more visionary and equitable. He authored the report "Growing Opportunities," which details legislative priorities for the Farm Bill. Several of those priorities can be found in H.R. 1824, the Food and Farm Act [WZ1] which Blumenauer re-introduced in March 2023 and offered alternatives to the status quo.

With the Farm Bill up for reconsideration this year, Earl is once again calling for change. He's committed to championing the progressive vision for a Farm Bill that works better for communities across the country, not corporate mega-farms.

Earl believes a better Farm Bill will:

  • Reduce spending and focus resources on those who need it,
  • Foster innovation,
  • Encourage sound conversation practices and outcomes, and
  • Ensure access to healthy foods.
 

Reduce spending and focus resources on those who need it

Many current Farm Bill programs pay too much to the wrong people to grow the wrong crops in the wrong places and usually at the wrong time. This comes from generations of special interests and big agri-business negotiating for federal handouts, while the rest must settle for crumbs. That has left us with a federal farm safety net that Is dramatically skewed toward the largest producers.

Earl wants to focus resources on small and mid-sized, beginning, minority, and disadvantaged producers, and invest in infrastructure to help them thrive. The average American farmer is over 60 years old – as this generation retires, we need the next generation of well-trained farmers and ranchers to step up and take the helm of the country's food production. But the biggest challenge for most small family farmers, in addition to education, is access to capital and land. We should be facilitating access for beginning, low-income, and socially disadvantaged farmers access to a variety of federal programs, ensuring that they get the technical assistance they need to help them thrive, and streamlining their access to loan funding and other opportunities.

Foster innovation

The United States is one of the world's biggest producers and consumers of agricultural commodities, and our long-term agricultural productivity and success rely on innovation through research. The discoveries that have come about because of federally funded research are some of the biggest drivers for increasing agricultural production, and benefit producers across the country. Earl wants to think beyond traditional areas such as crop research and conservation and expand federal policy to include supporting research into crop resiliency and the impacts of climate change on agriculture. In addition, Earl wants to prioritize and increase critical funding for research for specialty crops, organics, and beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers.

Earl also believes that a thriving agricultural sector does not need to come at the expense of animal welfare. As we look at Innovations across agriculture, producers that are promoting the wellbeing of farm animals should be rewarded In federal policy to encourage others to follow their lead.

Encourage sound conservation practices and outcomes

Earl believes that we must support practices that lead to the long-term sustainability of farmland and protect the environment. Currently, nearly 11 percent of conservation program funds go to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) for waste storage facilities and irrigation equipment installation. In 2021, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, including factory farms, accounted for approximately 11 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Earl wants to make sure that conservation funding is used to maximize environmental benefits, by prioritizing biodiversity, water quality and quantity, climate change preparedness, and carbon pollution reduction.

Ensure access to healthy foods

Across America, there is an epidemic of hunger and poor nutrition. Many families can't afford to put healthy foods on their tables: during 2021, an estimated 12 percent of American households receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. In Oregon, that number jumps to nearly 17 percent. Earl opposes cutting SNAP benefits and adding burdensome work requirements to the program.

Earl advocates for strengthening and expanding nutrition programs that promote the availability and affordability of healthy and fresh foods in school meals. In addition, he supports removing barriers that keep local farmers from selling products to schools and other institutions, as well as new programs to increase the supply and availability of locally and regionally produced foods in the marketplace, particularly in underserved communities.

For more information on Earl's efforts to reform the Farm Bill, please contact the office.