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National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) members gathered in Washington, DC between January 29 and February 1, 2024, to work together on the coalition’s campaigns and strategy for the following months. The event culminated with a visit from Senate Agriculture Committee Chair, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and a Hill Day with more than 120 meetings with lawmakers and staff in the House and Senate. At these meetings, coalition members and farmers urged lawmakers to pass a new farm bill that builds a more resilient and equitable food system by investing in healthy communities, leveling the playing field for small and mid-sized farmers, advancing racial equity across the food system, and building a climate-resilient future.

This year’s winter meeting was especially grounded by the attendance of farmers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. While NSAC staff and coalition member organizations often engage in strategy work and direct advocacy, the presence of farmers in the meeting and during the lobby day emphasized the real-life implications of NSAC and its members’ work by speaking directly to some of the hurdles that farmers face accessing federal resources and navigating the impacts of extreme weather on their farms and in their communities. 

NSAC Policy Director Mike Lavender gave an update on the progress of the farm bill. He highlighted the work NSAC members have done while pointing to the authorization extension passed for an additional year, and the need to continue forging ahead for a new farm bill that addresses NSAC’s priorities. Specifically, NSAC priorities include investing in healthy urban and rural communities, leveling the playing field for small and mid-sized farms, and building a climate resilient future. Advancing racial equity across the food system by removing the structural and institutional barriers that have long excluded BIPOC communities from access to land, credit, and technical assistance weaves through these priorities. NSAC’s farm bill platform likewise includes recommendations for more rigorous data collection and analyses that can inform decision-making. 

As a coalition, NSAC’s priorities and campaigns are set through a democratic process as members vote on tiered priorities on which the coalition commits to work together. Members work closely with NSAC staff on each of these priorities through issue committees that collaborate on campaigns. During the Winter Meeting, members worked long hours with dedication, focus, and on more than one occasion, the help of the performance arts. Together, coalition members decided on the work ahead for our current campaigns: Climate, Resilient Local and Regional Food Systems, and Farm Safety Net. Each of these campaigns has its unique message, and all highlight the importance of an equitable and resilient food and agriculture system that addresses the racial disparities that have plagued our country from the beginning. 

Climate

NSAC continues to advocate for programs that facilitate the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices with programs such as CSP and EQIP, including by protecting critical Inflation Reduction Act funding for climate-smart conservation practices. The introduction of the Innovative Practices for Soil Health Act only days prior to the Winter Meeting was welcome news that members celebrated during the campaign plenary. Key to further advancement of climate resilient practices in agriculture is the role that research will play in identifying these practices, and NSAC celebrated the 2023 Senate introduction of the Organic Science and Research Investment Act. This act will increase public investment in organic agriculture research and authorize the Organic Transitions Program, both important climate solutions in agriculture.

Local and Regional Food Systems

NSAC’s Local and Regional Food Systems Campaign aims to direct policy to strengthen local economies and infrastructure through federal procurement of local and regional foods while addressing the inequities that have left smaller producers and BIPOC communities behind. The EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act and the Strengthening Local Processing Act are two pieces of legislation that will help build that local infrastructure and address those inequities, among others.

Farm Safety Net

Our Farm Safety Net Campaign aims to level the playing field for small farmers who are at a disadvantage when competing with large, commodity farm operations that receive the majority of subsidies often inaccessible to smaller-scale and diversified farms. The campaign also focuses on fair access to credit for socially disadvantaged farmers, and increasing land access to underserved farmers. The Farm Program Integrity Act and the Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform (AFFIRM) Act are two bills that NSAC backs as part of this campaign and that would cap commodity support at $250,000 annually and reduce crop insurance subsidies respectively.

Several NSAC member organizations invited farmers to join them on Capitol Hill to share their own stories and engage directly with their members of Congress. This kind of grassroots farmer involvement helps build leadership and adds depth to internal conversations within NSAC and to the advocacy taking place. The Chicago Tribune featured some of the Illinois farmers who brought attention to the lack of access to federal grants for BIPOC farmers, and the opportunity to turn empty lots in Chicago into urban farms.

Senate Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow received a warm welcome from coalition members when she addressed the crowd on the last day of the meeting prior to a day of direct advocacy on Capitol Hill. Long a champion of many of the same values that NSAC and its members stand for, Senator Stabenow in her remarks said that “I want to make sure we address the needs of the country,” adding, “which is very diverse.” Stabenow also vigorously reaffirmed her position that she will not support a farm bill that cuts nutrition assistance or the Inflation Reduction Act conservation and climate funding.    

Echoing the Illinois farmers’ call for more equitable access to land and resources, she also acknowledged the inequities that have been part of our agricultural system. “I want to make sure we are helping beginning farmers and underserved farmers, and BIPOC farmers.” She went on to add that her goal is “to build a safety net that protects our small and diversified family of farms.” Senator Stabenow responded to questions from the audience and took a moment to greet and chat with coalition members and farmers in attendance from Michigan. 

The gathering culminated on February 1 as members took to the Hill to engage in direct advocacy with their representatives. NSAC members held over 120 visits with their representatives – including dozens of agriculture committee members and agriculture appropriators – bringing these messages and asking for support for the bills and programs that advance the Coalition’s priorities. Members streamed in and out of meetings on the Capitol Grounds – an intense day for a lot of members, some of whom had five or six visits with their delegations. Between meetings, members caught up with each other, or on their work at home, planned for their next meetings, ate snacks, and caught their breath. 

Hours after the last meeting had taken place, the last few members to leave sat in the NSAC office and shared their experiences, the responses they received, and what their next steps would be once they got back home. It had been a long week, but also one filled with hope and a deeper understanding of the landscape that lays ahead in the road to the next farm bill. 

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