Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act introduced Today
Lyons, NE - Lyons, NE - The Center for Rural Affairs praised the Senate introduction today of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2011, a cross-cutting initiative aimed at helping the next generation of farmers and ranchers enter into agriculture and take advantage of emerging markets. The bill is sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and nine other Senators. A companion bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Representative Tim Walz (D-MN) several weeks ago.
"I am proud of the initiatives we have previously enacted to help beginning farmers and ranchers create and pursue opportunities and realize their goals and dreams," said Senator Harkin as he concluded his floor speech introducing the bill. "By building on the success of the existing programs, this legislation will lend more help to beginning farmers and ranchers and in doing so strengthen American agriculture, our rural communities, and our nation as a whole. I am grateful to the cosponsors of this bill and urge all of my colleagues to support it."
"We commend Senator Harkin and the other sponsors for introducing this bill. Their legislation is smart, cost-effective public policy that will create jobs and invest in the future of rural America," said Traci Bruckner, Assistant Director for Rural Policy of the Center for Rural Affairs. "It addresses obstacles that often prevent beginning farmers and ranchers from getting their operation started."
The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act contains several key elements, including:
- Reauthorizing the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, a beginning farmer and rancher training and support initiative. It would increase mandatory funding from $75 million to $125 million over the next 5 years to help meet growing demand for the program, and include a new priority on agricultural rehabilitation and vocational training programs for military veterans.
- $30 million in annual funding for the Value Added Producer Grants Program and will retain the priority for projects benefiting beginning farmers and ranchers as well as a set-aside of program funding for these projects.
- Creating savings and enhancing lending provisions that help beginning farmers and ranchers access credit and establish a pattern of savings.
- Providing conservation incentives to assist beginning farmers and ranchers and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to establish conservation practices and sustainable systems on their farms and ranches.
Senator Harkin is joined by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), Senator Robert Casey (D-PA), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Senator Al Franken (D-MN), Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) as original co-sponsors of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2011.
"When you compare the numbers from the 2007 and 2002 Census of Agriculture, you see a big drop in the number of younger farmers in agriculture as their primary occupation. The revitalization of rural America depends, in large part, on reversing that trend," explained Bruckner.
"It can be difficult to get started in the world of agriculture," said Garrett Dwyer, a beginning rancher and former Marine infantryman from Bartlett, NE. "Skyrocketing costs of buying or renting land make entry into farming and ranching a daunting task." Dwyer traveled to D.C. in June to participate in a nationwide fly-in called, "Sound Investments to ensure the Next Generation of Beginning Farmers and Ranchers."
According to Dwyer, more beginning farmers and ranchers are needed because without a new generation of beginners, the land will concentrate in large farms. "And that will cause the permanent loss of opportunity for family farms, ranches, and rural communities and squander the chance to shift to a more sustainable system of agriculture," explained Dwyer.
Bruckner explained that the introduction of these bills in both the House and the Senate is a crucial step in focusing more of the public investment in the 2012 farm bill on the next generation of farmers and ranchers. Congressional investment in beginning farmers and ranchers is an investment, by all Americans, in the future of rural America.
"And it is money well spent," continued Bruckner.
