Rural advocacy groups in Iowa have released their priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill, which is already being discussed in Washington, D.C.

The Center for Rural Affairs has spent months gathering input from Iowa farmers, which the group wants lawmakers to consider. The Center is focusing on improving funding for crop insurance, more investment in conservation programs, and supporting entrepreneurial farmers. Those small farmers may otherwise be hesitant to take chances on progressive farming methods without a financial backstop.

Kayla Bergman, the group's policy manager, said the Center set its priorities by listening.

"The priorities outlined in our platform come directly from farmers, rural leaders and other individuals in rural communities that are directly impacted by USDA programs," Bergman pointed out. "These programs are doing great things for rural communities."

The current Farm Bill, which has a price tag of $428 billion, expires next September. The direction of the new bill will be determined in part by the ultimate makeup of the U.S. House and Senate.

Dan Voss, a corn and soybean farmer near Cedar Rapids, is a proponent of progressive farming methods. He's used no-till farming for more than 30 years and plants cover crops in the winter to reduce soil erosion.

Voss said those methods, and support from Congress in this Farm Bill, are critical for preserving Iowa's farmland for future generations.

"Our land's under a lot of stress," Voss noted. "We've got this climate shift going on. We demand more from the land; we'd like higher yields. Adopting these conservation practices helps enable the land to not only maintain - we can actually end up with land that becomes better over time."

Voss added he and other farmers have had substantial input into what may wind up in next year's Farm Bill. He was one of 5,000 farmers who completed a survey about what he thinks would best serve Iowa's farmers in the new legislation.

Young farmers in the United States face extensive structural barriers affecting their mental health, according to a new survey from the National Young Farmers Coalition.

A lack of affordable health care and housing as well as access to land is taking a toll on farmers just starting their career, as well as farmers of color.

Jac Wypler, farmer mental-health director for the National Young Farmers Coalition, said mental decline can lead to poor decision-making and higher risk of injury.

"Farmer mental health truly can lead to farms being less viable," Wypler pointed out. "Farmers being less capable to do the work of the farm, as well as leaving the farming profession."

Wypler noted low pay for farmworkers and even food insecurity are also leading to farmer burnout. Advocates have created a bilingual mental health hotline for farmers at 1-800-FARM-AID and are cultivating a growing network of young farmer leaders working to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.

The 2018 Farm Bill was the first to direct funding toward farmers' mental health and advocates are hoping the 2023 Farm Bill will offer even more.

Wypler acknowledged Americans' appreciation for farmers and the challenges they face grew during the pandemic, but stressed continued support is needed.

"A functioning healthy food system requires healthy farmers and farmworkers, and that includes their mental health," Wypler contended.

Cultivemos, a network for farmer and farmworker well-being in the Northeast, has regranted federal dollars to more than ninety organizations working to improve farmers' mental health through training and peer mentoring.


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Congress is gathering input as it looks to reauthorize the Farm Bill. Voices from Minnesota's agricultural sector hope independent family farms get a fair shake.

The Farm Bill covers a range of components tied to the nation's food system. It's updated every five years, and the current plan expires this fall.

Southeastern Minnesota dairy farmer Bonnie Haugen recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers about what she and other advocates want to see in the funding package. She said Congress needs to shift more support to smaller operations, noting that too many monopolies have eroded the presence of family farms, including in her area.

"When we bought these acres, 30 years ago this year, there was about 12 dairy farms within about a three-mile radius," she said. "As of last March, we are the last ones."

The Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project said a big help would be keeping provisions about enforcing antitrust laws. Small farmers also want full funding of conservation programs, arguing that those dollars shouldn't go to factory farms that may not be as motivated to preserve soil health. Some elements of the emerging plan have bipartisan support, but there are still political differences within the debate.

Sarah Goldman, policy organizer for the Land Stewardship Project, said more Minnesota farmers are nearing retirement age, and predicted a huge generational transfer of land in the coming years. She said Congress has an opportunity to create a better path for those who want to carry on the spirit of family farms.

"If we aren't able to facilitate land access for beginning farmers," she said, "then there aren't going to be folks who are able to continue on and support their communities, and feed their communities."

Her organization believes there should be more support for incubators and cooperative farms. It has said that could boost access to infrastructure, equipment and training for aspiring producers, and also create more opportunities for farmers of color.


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North Carolina farmers are calling on lawmakers to address manufacturer-imposed repair limitations on tractors, and minimize disruptions on their farms.

A report by the North Carolina Public Interest Research Group reveals that broken equipment costs farmers $3 billion, with an additional $1 billion spent on repairs annually.

For NC farmers, that cost is $103 million.

Stuart Beam, a long-time western North Carolina farmer, pointed out that constraints of modern agricultural technology that hinder farmers from fixing problems themselves - sidelining the requirements of small and medium-sized farms.

He recalled a personal experience where he had to wait two weeks for assistance when his machinery broke down in March.

"And in a lot of scenarios," said Beam, "even if we can replace that part, we still have to have a dealer bring their computer out to the field - or take that machine to a dealer - and all that boils down to is down time on the farm."

Manufacturers often enforce repair limitations on tractors and other heavy machinery to safeguard proprietary software and technology.

The Right to Repair reform would require tractor producers to provide farmers and independent dealers access to repair resources and software to fix the equipment.

Beam also said that limited competition leads to more challenges. And he stressed that long repair times and a lack of incentives for quality fixes are concerns.

He pointed out that while big farmers usually lease new equipment, small farmers often buy secondhand machinery.

Beam said he firmly believes the right-to-repair measures protect smaller farmers and the essential crops they grow for their local communities.

"Right-to-repair legislation, especially in North Carolina, will ease the burdens on small to medium-sized farmers," said Beam. "It's very important to realize that a lot of the very large farmers, they are in an entirely different economic window."

Colorado recently passed the country's first Right to Repair Act, and 15 other states are considering similar legislation.

It's this momentum that Beam said gives him hope that North Carolina farmers will be able to cut down their $103 million loss and repair bill.




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