Want to win in Washington? As sustainable agriculture advocates learned in 2012, even issues that hit American’s plates and pocketbooks are difficult to move through the partisan gridlock in the nation’s capital.
Resource Media has been working with a coalition of sustainable farming, environmental, wildlife and sportsmen groups to defend funding for voluntary farm conservation programs in the farm bill and ensure farmers that receive taxpayer subsidies are held accountable for basic soil and water protection.
Last year we invested significant energy showing lawmakers that their constituents think conservation programs like the Conservation Stewardship Program should be a top priority for federal funding, and that they don’t want their tax dollars to subsidize risky farming practices that jeopardize wildlife habitat, soil or water quality. Yet we still don’t have a new farm bill, and now face the daunting task of starting the whole process over again this year.
The farm bill is on a five year cycle and a colossal assemblage of subsidies, nutrition benefits, specialty programs and conservation programs. The most recent bill is from 2008, so last year Congress took up the task of updating our food and farm policy before it expired on September 30.
In the summer of last year, Congress produced a pair of draft farm bills that, while not ideal from a conservation perspective, took some initial steps toward much needed reform. They would have eliminated direct payment subsidies (billions paid to commodity producers, most of whom really don’t need the money), and they provided modest funding for a range of good programs that support conservation, organics, local and regional food systems, beginning farmers and ranchers, and equity for minority producers.
Republican House leadership, fearing a public fight amongst its caucus over the spending called for in the draft bill (around 80% of which comes in the form of food stamps, aka the SNAP program), stonewalled proceedings. The 2008 farm bill expiration date came and went with no legislative action. Election season took over and hope of a five year bill dwindled, replaced with hope that Congress could agree on a short-term extension that made at least a “down payment” on the reforms developed over the summer.
We got the extension, just not the one we expected. The fiscal cliff deal Congress passed on New Year’s Eve had a one-year extension (through to September 2013) tacked on, which resembles none of the other versions that would have made steps in the direction of reform. This new bill throws those important programs off the cliff, while safely securing the continuation of the direct payment subsidies that even commodity interest groups had conceded would go away under the new farm bill.
This outcome was a reality check. We and our allies in the reform community worked successfully to educate lawmakers and build broad support for conservation funding and accountability; advocates built consensus among farmers, sporting interests, wildlife advocates and land/water conservationists in support of conservation programs like the Conservation Stewardship Program. Yet the political process involved in the fiscal cliff deal undermined our efforts.
From a communications perspective, we are left to ponder: as we prepare to wade back into the farm bill fight over the coming months, what do we need to do to get ourselves back on track towards meaningful reforms to food and farm policy? Because the conversation on Capitol Hill is so rife with challenges, are there opportunities to open dialogues with those that did not play a prominent role in the 2012 debate but have a real stake in the policy outcome, such as health professionals? Can we establish common ground with the various interests involved to set the stage for productive negotiations? What about direct dialogue with those in the insurance industry or agricultural community that are opposed to reforms?
Whether it is Obama’s reelection campaign or the farm bill, political power is built through coalition building and strategic partnerships. The progress farm policy reformers made in the 2012 process was predicated on coming to Congressional lawmakers with concrete areas of common ground with diverse constituencies. It is clear we will need all those relationships, and possibly a lot more, to succeed in passing a new five year farm bill in 2013.
