Agriculture is a critical part of Oregon’s economy. From beef to nurseries to berries, family farmers and ranchers are providing the basic needs on which Americans and millions of people around the world depend. At the same time, American farmers are facing new and increasing pressures from budget deficits, trade rules, urban sprawl, climate change, rising energy costs and shrinking water resources. Congress must not miss the opportunity presented by the current Farm Bill reauthorization to craft policies that are good for farmers, the land, the environment, our economy, and the world.

Promoting Healthy Food and Farms

Reforming Farm Subsidies

Protecting Farmland and the Environment

Promoting Healthy Food and Farms

Across America, there is an epidemic of hunger and poor nutrition, as many families can’t afford to put healthy foods on their tables. Congressman Blumenauer believes that increasing the availability of healthy and fresh foods in schools, hospitals, and underserved communities is critical to improving the overall health and food security of the United States. By growing and distributing some of these foods locally and regionally, we can create profitable markets for many small and midsized independent farmers and ranchers, help to preserve farmland, and protect the environment with reduced transportation costs and more sustainable farming practices.

Locally and regionally, food distribution works hand-in-hand with community-led efforts to reduce hunger and provide affordable foods needed for good nutrition, especially in communities underserved by retail food stores. Reduced-price meals in schools have been proven to help students achieve higher test scores, while foods stamps can help many families and vulnerable Americans bridge the gap between what they can afford and what they need. 

Congressman Blumenauer has introduced the Local Food and Farm Support Act. This bill strengthens and expands existing nutrition programs that promote the availability and affordability of healthy and fresh foods, increases fruits and vegetables in school meals, removes barriers that keep local farmers from selling products into schools, and supports value-added agriculture and farmers markets. It also establishes a new program to increase the supply and availability of locally and regionally produced foods by providing innovative financing for the processing and distribution businesses that create local jobs and are best-suited to meet the needs of innovative, small and midsized farmers and ranchers.

Reforming Farm Subsidies

Our current farm programs provide little help to most American farmers and ranchers, particularly those in Oregon. The majority of commodity payments go to a few large-scale farm operations, with only 40% of farmers receiving any commodity payments at all. In fact, over 50% of farm subsides go to only 22 Congressional districts. As a result, these payments do little to support or sustain rural communities, which continue to lose jobs and see their populations decline. Clearly, current farm programs are not meeting the needs of today’s family farmers or their communities.

At the same time, these subsidies distort the market by providing incentives for the overproduction of bulk commodity crops and limit the freedom of farmers to respond to changes in market signals, while preventing many poor farmers around the world from making a living where their products are competitive. By shifting farm subsidies to programs for

Protecting Farmland and the Environment

The United States loses more than 1 million acres of farmland every year. Much of our best farmland, which is close to our growing cities, is being lost to development and sprawl. The pressure of sprawl is forcing farmers off their land and depriving us all of the benefits of near-by sustainable agriculture, such as local food and a host of environmental benefits.

Congressman Blumenauer believes that we must give farmers more tools to protect their land from sprawl and environmental degradation. That’s why he’s introduced the Family Farm & Ranch Preservation Act. This bill grants tax credits to farmers who donate all or part of their development rights to a nonprofit land conservation organization or agency. The credits can be used to offset federal income, estate or capital gains taxes.  The farmers would continue to own and farm the land and could sell their land to other farmers or ranchers or transfer it to their children.  The new owners would be free to farm or ranch on the property as they see fit; the only restriction would be that new homes, development or land divisions would not be allowed.