The 2018 Farm Bill: What Does it Mean for the Region?
What Does It Mean for the Grand Traverse Region?
Once a hallmark of bipartisan cooperation, the Farm Bill is an every-five-years legislative behemoth that affects virtually everyone in the country. Starting in 1933, the Farm Bill has historically been a vehicle for members of Congress from urban and rural areas alike to come together to divvy up crucial resources for their constituents, seeking to provide a “win/win” legislative achievement.
For those representing urban areas, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) and other such supports provided critically needed food assistance for low-income residents of the large cities they represented. For legislators from rural areas, the bill’s programs supported the commodity crops produced there; funded crop insurance crucial to family farmers; and provided rural development assistance that bolstered economic development in their small towns and agrarian communities.
However, as agriculture shifted away from family farms and toward large “corporate” farm operations, particularly in the areas of animal agriculture and commodity crop production, an associated political culture of corporate agriculture ensued. This corporate agricultural lobby has become increasingly concerned with monetary returns to its investors and less with the quality production of food and fiber for Americans and the markets served throughout the world.
As the new millennium approached, a slow swing of the pendulum had begun—back to prominent concern for the family farm, the safe and quality production of food, and the hallmark conservation components of the Farm Bill. These interests began to garner stronger bipartisan support during development of the 2004 Farm Bill and especially the 2008 Farm Bill, which saw some real reforms in the crop subsidy system.
FOCUS ON FOOD SYSTEMS, SPECIALTY CROPS AND CONSERVATION
In 2011, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Michigan’s now-senior senator, became the chair on the Senate Committee of Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Stabenow is only the second senator from Michigan to ever chair the committee, more than 120 years after Thomas Palmer served in the late 1880s. Particularly in light of the economic downturn that had depressed the state’s manufacturing sector, Sen. Stabenow embraced this leadership opportunity to further highlight the size and diversity of Michigan’s agricultural economy to her peers in Congress. (By most reckonings, agriculture is the state’s second largest economic sector after manufacturing, and Michigan is second only to California in the variety of crops produced.)
Through significant engagement with farmers and agribusiness entities in the state, the Senator and her staff became extremely well versed on the impact of the Farm Bill’s programs in Michigan. The Grand Traverse region’s leadership in the development of our regional food system and conservation of farmland, and the unique nature of our specialty crop growing capabilities, became well known to the Senator and her staff. This brought new gains in the 2008 and 2014 Farm Bill, including the creation of a new Specialty Crop Title in the bill; an increased focus on support for beginning farmers and ranchers; and a dedication to support those engaged in providing fresh, quality foods to institutions such as schools and hospitals, and those serving the economically disadvantaged.
THE GRAND TRAVERSE REGION
Congress passed the $867 billion 2018 Farm Bill on December 12 with strong bipartisan support. The President signed the legislation into law on December 20. This new bill does much to carry forward and improve on gains made in the previous two farm bills, as well as support new programs and components that strengthen the region’s food system and long-term agricultural vitality.
Given that the 2018 Farm Bill is comprised of 807 pages, divided into 12 individual titles and their various programs, it’s virtually impossible to highlight every program’s impact on the Grand Traverse region. That said, it’s important to know that this is not just legislation that affects farming. In addition to its critical role for agriculture, it is the single largest source of funding for private land conservation in the country, provides authorization and funding for the U.S. Forest Service and all of its programs, is the home to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and contains entire titles devoted to programs for research, energy, trade and rural development, among many others. The Farm Bill is said to touch every single American through one program or another, and its name undersells the tremendous impact it has on our nation’s economy and ecology.
“SMALL BUT MIGHTY” PROGRAMS STRENGTHENED
The 2018 Farm Bill provides permanent “baseline” funding for a handful of relatively small but increasingly crucial programs that have developed over the last decade. These include: the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP); Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as “Section 2501”); Value- Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program; and Farmers’ Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP). The final bill combines BFRDP and Section 2501 into the new Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (FOTO) program, and merges BFRDP and FMLFPP into the Local Agriculture Marketing Program (LAMP).
If you can’t get through the alphabet soup, just know that these programs have provided significant support to the next generation of farmers in our region and the innovative work developing new Michigan-made value-added products and their associated marketing. Baseline funding for these programs ensures that they need not be fought for again in the next farm bill.
STATE AND REGION LEADER IN “DOUBLE UP FOOD BUCKS”
The Ann Arbor–based Fair Food Network developed a creative incentive program for SNAP participants to leverage their benefits at farm markets through a public- private partnership. Through Double Up Food Bucks, for each dollar spent on fresh foods at farm markets participants receive another dollar in value, doubling their purchasing power for fresh local food. This unique program was first vetted in Michigan, specifically in the Grand Traverse region, by the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, which, along with its partners, raised the matching funds for the pilot. An outcome of that success was the dedication of $100 million in the 2014 Farm Bill to expand this program into other states. Called the Farm Insecurity and Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program, this funding recognized not only the benefits for those receiving nutrition assistance but also the opportunities for farmers to garner increased direct sales as a result. The program’s success led to more than double the previous funding in the 2018 Farm Bill, allowing the program to extend its reach to communities throughout the state and country.
FARMLAND PRESERVATION
The Grand Traverse region has been a state and national leader in the preservation of farmland for decades. Through the activities of the Leelanau and Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancies, together with taxpayer-supported programs in Peninsula and Acme Townships, thousands of acres of farmland in the region have been permanently preserved through the purchase of agricultural conservation easements, historically called the “purchase of development rights.” These agreements compensate farmland owners for some or all of the future residential value of their land in exchange for a restriction that allows for agricultural use and associated infrastructure, while permanently restricting residential uses. The easements are held in perpetuity and remain intact regardless of ownership. These programs have proven to be essential to growers who are committed to seeing their land remain available for farming and to assist in transferring land to the next generation of growers when there is a strong disparity between development and agricultural land value. This disparity has created unprecedented challenges in the transference of farm property from one generation to the next.
The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) in the Farm Bill has served as the prominent funding source of matching public dollars to assist with these efforts. Not only was the ACEP’s funding significantly increased in the 2018 Farm Bill, but flexibility was added—such as the means for land conservancies to purchase farms, restrict them with an ACEP-funded agricultural conservation easement, then re-sell the property to another grower. This provision alone provides considerable added flexibility for our area land conservancies, who often must act swiftly to protect key farmland from conversion to development.
WILL HEMP BE ONE OF MICHIGAN’S NEW CASH CROPS?
The 2018 Farm Bill finally ends the era of hemp prohibition. Deeming it an agricultural commodity, the bill removes industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, ensuring that it is no longer treated the same as marijuana. Industrial hemp is a different strain of the Cannabis sativa plant than that grown for high concentrations of THC, the psychoactive component used medically and recreationally. Hemp was considered of vital importance to the United States prior to World War II, as it can be refined into a variety of commercial items including paper, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paint, insulation, biofuel, food and animal feed. It is extremely fast growing, requires little water and when properly cultivated can help farmers avoid the use of herbicides, better manage crop rotations and accelerate organic certification.
Much like the wait for rules following legalization of recreational marijuana use in Michigan, farmers will await the USDA regulations regarding hemp production. With an ever-increasing interest in the diversification of crop production by family farms, there is no doubt that hemp production could come to play an important role in our region, allowing farms to be part of the growing market for hemp as an environmentally sound alternative to a multitude of products and product ingredients.
WHAT ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?
At the time this article was written, the federal government was still under a partial shutdown. As such, personnel and programming deemed “nonessential” have ceased, and this has put federal loans to farmers and other critical supports in limbo. Absent a resolution to this political impasse, the shutdown could negatively impact all aspects of our growers’ operations and support for the agencies and organizations they rely on to successfully fund their agricultural enterprises.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
American Farmland Trust
Farmland.org
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
SustainableAgriculture.net
National Young Farmers Coalition
YoungFarmers.org
Farmers Market Coalition
FarmersMarketCoalition.org
Land Trust Alliance
LandTrustAlliance.org
Leelanau Conservancy
LeelanauConservancy.org
Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
GTRLC.org
