Both the House and the Senate have passed their own Farm Bills. The House passed a Republican-only bill and the Senate passed a bipartisan bill. The bills have major differences, but the biggest difference may be the House’s imposition of work requirements on SNAP (food stamp) beneficiaries and the opposition of Democrats to this provision. This conflict may prevent Congress from completing the Farm Bill in 2018, but one never knows and it is best to proceed as if it will be finished on time at the end of September.
The House mostly omitted programs that support local food, even though local food is now a $20 billion enterprise in the United States. However, the Senate included a program—the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP)—that combines several local food programs, such as the Farmers Market Promotion Program, the Local Food Promotion Program, and Value Added Producer Grants, which are widely used in California. It also adds a new food safety cost-share assistance program to help farmers become food safety certified and to make necessary upgrades to on-farm infrastructure. The Senate bill provides $60 million per year in mandatory funds for LAMP. CAFF & The Farmers Guild makes extensive use of these programs in conjunction with our work with farmers, farmers’ markets, and CSAs and we would like to see LAMP included in the final Farm Bill.
Both Houses of Congress have appointed a conference committee to work out their differences. This process is mostly conducted by committee staff behind closed doors, but it is possible for the public to apply pressure. Unfortunately, California has no one appointed to the conference committee as an agricultural member. However, the four Congressmen from California who are on the House Agriculture Committee can all influence the conference. If you live in one of their districts (and they often ask for your zip code), please call the number below and tell the person who answers that you are a constituent and would like your Representative to tell the Farm Bill conferees that they should support the Senate’s Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) just as the Senate wrote it, even though the House did not include it in their version of the Farm Bill.
Doug LaMalfa, 1st District, 202-225-3076
Jeff Denham, 10th District, 202-225-4540
Jim Costa, 16th District, 202-225-3341
Jimmy Panetta, 20th District, 202-225-2861
If you don’t know who your Representative is you can enter your address at:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/CA#representatives
The House mostly omitted programs that support local food, even though local food is now a $20 billion enterprise in the United States. However, the Senate included a program—the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP)—that combines several local food programs, such as the Farmers Market Promotion Program, the Local Food Promotion Program, and Value Added Producer Grants, which are widely used in California. It also adds a new food safety cost-share assistance program to help farmers become food safety certified and to make necessary upgrades to on-farm infrastructure. The Senate bill provides $60 million per year in mandatory funds for LAMP. CAFF & The Farmers Guild makes extensive use of these programs in conjunction with our work with farmers, farmers’ markets, and CSAs and we would like to see LAMP included in the final Farm Bill.
Both Houses of Congress have appointed a conference committee to work out their differences. This process is mostly conducted by committee staff behind closed doors, but it is possible for the public to apply pressure. Unfortunately, California has no one appointed to the conference committee as an agricultural member. However, the four Congressmen from California who are on the House Agriculture Committee can all influence the conference. If you live in one of their districts (and they often ask for your zip code), please call the number below and tell the person who answers that you are a constituent and would like your Representative to tell the Farm Bill conferees that they should support the Senate’s Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) just as the Senate wrote it, even though the House did not include it in their version of the Farm Bill.
Doug LaMalfa, 1st District, 202-225-3076
Jeff Denham, 10th District, 202-225-4540
Jim Costa, 16th District, 202-225-3341
Jimmy Panetta, 20th District, 202-225-2861
If you don’t know who your Representative is you can enter your address at:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/CA#representatives
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