| As part of AFT’s nationwide effort to engage local communities in developing a stronger farm bill, our Pacific Northwest office recently teamed up with local farm organizations and agencies in Washington state to hold a conference that shared ideas on what issues a new farm bill might address. The statewide event, “Visions of the Federal Farm Bill,” was held April 20, 2007 at Moses Lake, in the heart of Washington’s farm country. The conference kicked off with a keynote address from the state’s Director of Agriculture, Valoria Loveland, included a luncheon speech by 4th District Congressman “Doc” Hastings and featured 15 presentations by top Washington agricultural leaders on critical farm bill topics.
The agenda focused on four major areas of concern likely to be faced in the new farm bill:
- Risk Management: What mechanisms do we need to help our farmers minimize the risks they face in one of the riskiest businesses there is?
- Conservation stewardship: How can the farm bill encourage production of the important environmental benefits generated on our nation’s farms and ranches?
- Competitiveness and new markets: What provisions to we need to strengthen the economic viability of agriculture and increase its competitiveness both locally and in the increasingly challenging global marketplace?
- Foundations for the future: What can the farm bill do to strengthen research, make technical assistance available, and provide the service infrastructure needed for a successful agriculture industry?
AFT believes that meaningful improvements in farm bill programs will require broad support from within the agriculture industry. So among other efforts, we are working with local farm groups to lay out possible options and encourage discussion of the opportunities for change. The Moses Lake “Visions” conference included over 150 participants representing nearly 100 different firms, farm businesses, and organizations concerned with the shape of the new farm bill. It was co-sponsored by the Washington Farm Bureau, the Washington State Grange, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, the Washington Association of Conservation Districts, the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture.
All of these groups and agencies will use the ideas shared at the conference to help them shape policy for the 2007 Farm Bill. To further support those efforts, speakers and attendees were also encouraged to submit brief written vision statements for compilation into a visions paper that is being shared with attendees, sponsoring organizations and the Washington Congressional Delegation.
Events like the Washington conference are laying the foundation for AFT’s development of a comprehensive set of farm bill proposals, anticipated for public release on May 8. Such events will also help other groups interested in the farm bill to develop policy that can truly meet the needs of agriculture and address the public interest in the years to come.
More information about "Visions."
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