Lobby for strong climate policies in the Farm Bill. What you need to know.

Every five years, Congress passes a major funding bill (the “Farm Bill”) enabling a broad range of programs intended to 1) help farmers and ranchers be more competitive in global markets, 2) mitigate agriculture’s climate impacts, and 3) keep food prices affordable.  Despite hyper-partisanship and other dysfunction, Congress has some political incentives to pass the legislation, but CCLers can/should weigh in to support climate policies like faster permitting, soil management (CO2 sequestration, anti-pollution, increased productivity, reduced deforestation, and more.)

Here are some very useful resources to increase your knowledge:

• CCL Community Action team on Agriculture and Forestry – just click the “Join” button at the top to see new Forum posts as they are published.
• Earthjustice has a blog post which addresses 5 areas ripe for progress; it’s succinct and clear. Agriculture, Climate, and 2023 Farm Bill.  Note: the 2023 Bill was extended; the real work will be in 2024.
• Open Letter from 130 leading researchers urging increased funding for the “Climate Hubs.”
• Breakthrough Institute’s blog post on the positions of different factions in Congress — a good primer on the current state of the politics.