Vilsack Wants To ‘Replenish’ The Farm Supply
Some Say USDA Is Not Moving Fast Enough With Existing Beginning Farmer Programs SARA WYANT
farm in North Dakota recently, we spotted a rare site. Another vehi- cle. It’s not unusual to
W G
see tractors and haying equipment in a few farm fields and people working along their farmsteads, but there are days when no one except the postman drives by. As some of you know, there are several
WASHINGTON, D.C. gravel
roads to our
inding along the
counties across Rural America where the population has declined dramatically. Schools have consolidated, store fronts have closed, and it’s not unusual to drive 30 miles to find a restaurant or grocery store that’s open. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wants
to reverse that trend. At a recent Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on the 2012 farm bill, Vilsack said that he's de- termined “to ensure that new farmers find a way to be part of 21st century agricul- ture. These new agricultural entrepreneurs are a key to a vibrant rural America and to the future of all of agriculture.” It’s hard to disagree with his goal or his
Who Are The Beginning Farmers And Ranchers?
SARA WYANT WASHINGTON, D.C.
enerally, a beginning farm is con- sidered to be one that is operated by one or more operators who have 10
years or less of experience operating a farm or ranch. In 2008, approximately 21 percent of family farms met that defini-
tion, according to USDA’s Economic Re- search Service. Beginning farms were more likely to be small farms than estab- lished farms and in fact were less likely to produce any agricultural products (see table). Beginning farms accounted for 9 percent of the total production value of family farms in 2008. There are also es- tablished farms that are oper- ated jointly by more
experi-
enced operators and beginning farmers. While the majority of beginning farm- ers (89 percent in 2008) oper- ated beginning farms, 11 per- cent of begin- ning
farmers
(making up less than 3 percent of all farmers) jointly operated e s t a b l i s h e d farms with ex- perienced farm- ers.
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logic. He understands that declining rural populations means declining rural eco- nomic opportunities as well as declining political clout. But what’s a secretary to do? Recalling past efforts to add 100,000 po-
lice offers nationally, Vilsack asked “Why not set as a goal for the 2012 farm bill, an ability to add at least 100,000 additional farmers in the area of the small farming and commercial operations? Why not es- tablish local advisory councils in commu- nities across the country to identify and recruit and encourage and insist that young people consider a life of farming? . . . And why not expand our efforts to en- courage transitions for those seeking to re- tire and those seeking to start farming? Why not place the nation's attention on our need for young farmers on the same plane as police officers and teachers as they are equally important for the future of this country?” While insisting that he does not intend to
offer his own package of farm bill propos- als, Vilsack urged senators to write a new farm bill focusing “an aggressive effort on helping beginning farmers” and “on build- ing and revitalizing the rural economy gen- erally.” Existing tools Yet, some beginning farmer advocates
say there are already several tools in the USDA “toolbox” to help incentivize new and beginning farmers. The problem is, they are not being used says the Center for Rural Affairs Rural Policy Program Assis-
tant Director Traci Bruckner “With USDA not requiring the actively
engaged rule for the commodity programs, people can set up all kinds of paper farms and get subsidized on every acre they add to their operations . . . The biggest barriers to beginning farmers are access to land and access to capital,” says Bruckner. “I think the fact that we have unlimited USDA payments going to really large farms makes it tougher to get the land and capi- tal needed to start farming.” The National Sustainable Agriculture
Coalition (NSAC) points out several unful- filled programs created in the last farm bill to help beginning farmers. For example, the 2008 Farm Bill authorized the creation of a new Office of Advocacy and Outreach to coordinate policy department-wide on beginning farmer and minority farmer is- sues. “Yet, progress to get it off the ground has
been very, very slow, and the office itself has been housed deep within the bureau- cracy rather than directly under the Sec- retary as specified in the Farm Bill. Hopefully with staff about to be hired, the office will be full- functioning soon.” The new Conservation Reserve Program
Transition Incentive Program (CRP-TIP) was officially begun by USDA’s Farm Serv- ice Agency recently. It provides incentives for CRP contract holders who do not intend to get back into farming to sell or lease to beginning or minority farmers.
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