Alaska and the Farm Bill
By Rachel Lord, Advocacy and Policy Director, AFPC
The Farm Bill. Generally speaking, it’s on a five-year schedule, and the last one passed in 2018. AFPC and partners around the country have provided feedback over the past few years through listening sessions and hearings, and we saw a number of proposals from our Congressional delegation to seed into the Farm Bill. But what is the Farm Bill, and where are we right now?
It can be hard to wrap one’s mind around the sheer size of the Farm Bill; the version from the House Agriculture Committee weighs in at 954 pages. And when we ask what the Farm Bill is, you can begin to imagine the breadth of policies that could be contained in roughly a thousand printed pages. When we were in D.C. a few weeks ago, the general vibe was that the Farm Bill is going to be passed this year - before they gavel out in December, possibly before the October recess. With such a massive piece of legislation, we need to help our delegation in Congress identify top priorities for Alaska’s food system as the Farm Bill churns through the process. And the first step is knowing what’s at stake!
So what’s even in the Farm Bill that impacts us in Alaska? The bill is broken down into twelve sections, or “Titles”, each one with its own focus. Below we’ll briefly line out some highlights for Alaska. Some of our top priorities that cross all titles include the need for local and regional flexibility, reducing bureaucratic complexities for grants and contracts, and expanding Tribal eligibility and self-determination authority across USDA programs.
Okay, so let’s take a minute to fly through the 12 titles in the Farm Bill, and some highlights of programs that we see on the ground here in Alaska and want to see strengthened and supported in the next Farm Bill:
1: Commodities
This title largely covers crops like wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans. It also covers dairy and sugar, as well as disaster assistance. A priority in this title for AFPC is the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Program (RTCP) (check out our webinar on RTCP here).
2: Conservation
The many NRCS programs that Alaskan farmers benefit from are contained in the Conservation title. High tunnels and irrigation help are a few of the programs under EQIP that have been hugely beneficial in Alaska. We are also particularly interested in the Agriculture Conservation Easement Program to help protect farmland in partnership with organizations like the Alaska Farmland Trust.
3: Trade
Focused on exports and international food aid, Alaska particularly benefits from the Market Access Program with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and the Intertribal Agriculture Council as two of 74 cooperator groups from around the nation.
4: Nutrition
The largest of all the Titles, Nutrition covers federal food access programs that help reduce hunger and provide steps out of poverty. With high rates of poverty and hunger in Alaska, the Nutrition title is critical to support both Alaskan families directly as well as our food access partners like the Food Bank of Alaska and the hundreds of food pantries and other food banks across the state. Programs like SNAP, TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program), and FDPIR (Federal Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, run in Alaska through the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium) bring millions of dollars into Alaska’s economy through food purchases and distribution. We strongly encourage making permanent the authority for Tribal organizations to run FDPIR, as well as expanding that authority to cover SNAP and other USDA programs. Other Nutrition provisions that we strongly support include the Micro Grants for Food Security program, Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, GusNIP (Nutrition Incentive Programs grants), NAP to SNAP transition for Puerto Rico, and excluding the military basic housing allowance from SNAP income eligibility.
5: Credit
Within this title are the many Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans and other credit tools for supporting farmers. Farm loan programs are important financing options for farmers in Alaska - check out our recent webinar on Lending Opportunities for Alaskan Farmers.
6: Rural Development
There are a number of rural development title programs that include agriculture and rural business development. Alaskans benefit from a lot of the housing and other provisions within this title, but for AFPC we have a pretty narrow focus here.
7: Research
We love the UAF Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources, & Extension which houses Alaska’s Cooperative Extension, 4-H, Alaska Tribes Extension Program, the Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, and all of the programming they do to help grow and strengthen Alaska’s agriculture industry through research and engagement. As a Land Grant University, UAF has direct ties to the Farm Bill Research Title.
8: Forestry
Similar to Rural Development, there are a lot of programs within the Forestry title that impact Alaska however AFPC does not have any specific engagement here at this time.
9: Energy
Similar to Forestry, AFPC is not reviewing the Energy title.
10: Horticulture
Within the Horticulture title, there are a number of programs that Alaskan farmers and producers take advantage of on a regular basis. They support marketing, production, and infrastructure as well as organic certification. You can check out some of these valuable programs at the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Grants & Opportunities page.
11: Crop Insurance
Crop insurance is a big, wide-ranging area that can often be challenging for smaller, Alaskan producers. From 2017-2020, AFPC participated in a large USDA partnership agreement to provide crop insurance education and risk management strategies to Alaskan farmers. We are pushing for Farm Bill provisions that will help our ag industry, including expanding Whole Farm Revenue insurance options, expanding subsidies for beginning farmers and ranchers, and supporting the Risk Management Agency to develop further resources for rural and outlying regions including Alaska.
12: Miscellaneous
This is a bit of a grab-bag title; there are provisions on livestock, historically underserved producers, USDA administration, and many others. This is where, in Senator Stabenow’s summary, the Regional Food Business Centers would be made permanent - a move we strongly support! It is also where the House Ag Committee version makes massive cuts to SNAP through changes to the way the dollars are calculated within the “Thrifty Food Plan”. This is a non-starter, and we strongly oppose reductions to SNAP. We want to bolster and strengthen Alaska’s people and economy - we won’t get there through hungry families.
Some key nutrition and food policies are not contained within the Farm Bill, including WIC, child nutrition programs like school lunches, and FDA food safety laws.
Where is the Farm Bill now?
When we get close to a new Farm Bill, near the end of that five-year window, members of Congress start holding listening sessions with constituents, committee hearings, and proposing “marker bills”. Marker bills are intended to be scooped up and put into the Farm Bill, not necessarily run through the legislative process on their own. The first drafts, if you will, of the new Farm Bill are written by the Senate and House Agriculture Committees. They take into account Committee member priorities and the political winds, and they incorporate a number of marker bills and other provisions they would like to see move forward. Ag Committee members are key drivers in shaping the Farm Bill; in Alaska, we do not have any members of Congress on an Ag Committee in the House or Senate. However, our members still have opportunities to influence the Farm Bill, including on the Floor in both chambers when the bill comes forward for amendments and votes.
As of mid-June, the House Ag Committee has passed their version of the Farm Bill out of Committee. Its next stop is the House Floor. The Senate Ag Committee has publicly shared two different Farm Bill summaries - one from the Democrats and one from the Republicans on the Committee. We’re staying tuned for a hearing (or hearings) where the Committee will “mark up”, or amend, their compromised version of the Farm Bill to move on to the Senate Floor.
As a nonpartisan, system-wide organization, we at AFPC want to help Alaskans across our food systems identify and voice their priorities within the Farm Bill.
Looking at the programs listed above, and with additional feedback from partners, we send comments to our Congressional delegation on both of the Senate versions that have been released (read our comments on Sen. Stabenow’s version here and the Republican Framework here). We’re now waiting to see the next steps on Capitol Hill.
You can stay up-to-date along with us on our Farm Bill website (updates will be on the Resources page), where we’ll post updates as we learn about them as well as feedback we’re sharing with DC.
We want to hear from you - what are your questions, priorities, and concerns? Drop me a note and let me know - rachel@alaskafoodpolicycouncil.org.
