August 6, 2024
Appalachians have a long history of hard work, resilience, and coming together to face enormous challenges. The Farm Bill presents an important opportunity to address long standing issues in our region; these solutions must be grounded in Appalachian communities and centered on creating wealth locally. Done right, the Farm Bill can grow prosperity in the Appalachian region while preparing our communities to meet the nation’s climate challenge.
Key to this work is using allocations in the Farm Bill’s budget to build upon investments made in the Inflation Reduction Act; these investment in climate-smart agriculture and conservation technical assistance are the largest supports for agriculture conservation and rural communities in decades, and farmers, ranchers, and foresters are depending them.
To realize these goals and ReImagine our Appalachian farms, forest and communities, we recommend that the Farm Bill:
Invest in Sustainable and Climate Resilient Agriculture
Improving soil health is a path to climate resilience, reduced flooding, environmental benefits, as well as better crop yield. These win-win-win investments are essential for Appalachian farmers to adapt to the next generation of farming challenges. Climate resilient agriculture goes beyond just soil health – agroforestry practices, stronger safety nets for diversified specialty crops that enable on-farm diversification, and prioritizing practices that mitigate climate change are also key. The Working Lands program has been a successful model for soil health, especially within the Conservation Stewardship Program. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is another highly successful conservation program that should be expanded to meet demand for technical assistance and cost share for producers to adopt conservation practices on working lands to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits. Because these popular, commonsense programs improve dividends for farmers and local communities, they have been overprescribed. We must build on funding included in previous laws and continue to increase resources for climate resilient agriculture and healthy soil.
Bolster Regional Food Systems and Nutrition Programs
In order to ensure our region’s children have a healthy foundation, we must ensure SNAP benefits reflect the rising costs of food by boosting benefits. Unnecessary restrictions like work reporting requirements increase bureaucracy and harm children and families. Congress should simplify application processes and remove administrative barriers to make it easier to apply for or renew benefits and eliminate time limits for people who are unemployed or underemployed.
We must bolster regional food access through projects such as edible food forests, which can help relieve poverty through food distribution while creating good jobs. Programs such as value-added producer grants, support for food hubs and cooperatives, and support for processing and transportation are also essential. Programs like GusNIP that encourage the use of SNAP benefits at farmers markets, as well as the Local Agriculture Marketing Program, are important measures for supporting farmers while expanding access to locally grown food.
Support Climate Friendly Agroforestry
Sustainable agroforestry practices build healthy soils, reduce pollution, sequester carbon, and create job opportunities. We must provide financial incentives for landowners to adopt carbon-absorbing practices, raising incomes while leaving land healthier for future generations.
Create Opportunities for Small Farmers and Woman and Minority Owned Farms
The Farm Bill can incentivize the growth of practices that do the most good for climate and the environment while helping create the next generation of Appalachian farmers. This includes more support for apprenticeships, more opportunities to acquire farmland, and other programs to support beginning farmers, people of color, and women farmers to overcome the high barrier of entry into this essential field. Expanding technical assistance and mentorship programs and promoting greater transparency, ease of applications, and lower cost shares would make USDA programs more accessible for young and new farmers.
Grow the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Program
The REAP program has shown tremendous success supporting agricultural producers and rural small businesses to implement renewable energy and make energy efficiency improvements. The program could become even more impactful with increased funding, and improve equity through targeted outreach and support to historically disadvantaged communities, as well as simplifying the application process and implementing a rebate model for smaller projects.
Prevent Flooding and Support Communities Hardest Hit
We must accelerate USDA disaster assistance such as the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, so that rural communities and agricultural producers can recover swiftly after a disaster and prepare for future flood events. USDA programs such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service support innovative conservation practices such as multi-cropping that can reduce flooding by as much as 60%. We need more research to quantify how such resilient agricultural practices can reduce flood risk. Lastly, the USDA’s small watershed programs, including the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO) program, are essential to support rural communities in planning, designing, implementing, and rehabilitating critical watershed projects to reduce flood risks.
TAKE ACTION!
Tell Your Congressional Representatives we want a Strong Farm Bill for Appalachia
Please take action to share these priorities with your Congressional Representatives – they need to know the Farm Bill matters, and that we’re paying attention.