Farm Bill reform would help state's farmers, consumers
Asbury Press, November 14, 2007

New Jersey may be famous for its tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries and sweet corn, but farmers growing these crops that help the Garden State live up to its nickname are in a financial drought.

In 2005, only 7 cents of every $100 in Farm Bill subsidies went to New Jersey farmers. That's because current federal policy favors giant agricultural corporations that produce crops generally not grown in our state, such as rice, cotton and wheat. New Jersey's farms, which tend to be small producers of fruits and vegetables, simply don't qualify.

Two U.S. senators — Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind. — are trying to even the planting field, so to speak.

Lautenberg and Lugar have introduced a reform bill, known as the FRESH (Farm, Ranch, Equity, Stewardship and Health) Act, as an alternative to the Farm Bill draft approved two weeks ago by the Senate Agriculture Committee that mostly leaves current farm subsidies intact. New Jersey's other senator, Robert Menendez, is a co-sponsor.

New Jersey's senators clearly understand the importance of agriculture to our state and the potential benefits that reform would provide New Jersey farmers, consumers and our environment. As the Farm Bill debate heads to the Senate floor this week, Lautenberg and Menendez have one more chance to secure real Farm Bill reform.

The reforms proposed by the FRESH Act would provide unprecedented resources to help New Jersey protect its farmland, combat sprawl and protect wetlands. FRESH would provide $6 billion in additional conservation program funding and increase support for organic agriculture, fruit and vegetable crops and nutritional programs.

The proposed legislation would also trim direct payments to farms and corporations and replace them with revenue-based insurance programs for nearly all farmers and ranchers. At a time of historic national debt, it would decrease the federal deficit by at least $3 billion.

The New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey and dozens of other conservation groups and many farmers from New Jersey strongly support this legislation that would help to preserve farmland and keep farmers farming. Other co-sponsors of the FRESH Act include Susan Collins, R-Maine; Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both D-R.I., and Ben Cardin, D-Md.

One of the most successful programs under the current Farm Bill, the Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program, has helped permanently preserve more than 12,500 acres of Garden State farmland. The FRESH Act would provide an additional $500 million to protect open space and farmland, and $330 million for the restoration and management of wildlife habitat.

The FRESH Act would allow a million additional acres of wetlands to be restored nationwide through the Wetlands Reserve Program. This program provided nearly $5.18 million to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation to preserve and restore approximately 2,200 acres of wetlands on its Franklin Parker Preserve in the Chatsworth section of Woodland Township, in the heart of the Pine Barrens. Landowner demand for funding from this program in New Jersey far exceeds the annual supply.

Another important initiative proposed by the FRESH Act is the expansion of the regional equity provision, which would increase access to conservation programs to at least $18 million for each states. The FRESH Act's innovative "farm to cafeteria" program would provide schoolchildren in New Jersey with greater access to healthy fruits and vegetables and increase marketing opportunities for the state's farmers.

The proposed legislation would also help address the growing demand by American consumers for local and healthy food. Each year, the United States increases its imports of organic products because demand exceeds domestic production. The bill provides more funding to help New Jersey farmers who want to convert to organic production, and thus help reverse the tide driving America to import more and more organic food. It creates new funding to help establish more farmers' markets and expands coupon programs that help low-income families and the elderly shop there.

Sustainable agriculture is vital to the Garden State's future. Throughout the Farm Bill debate, most of the New Jersey congressional delegation has become involved, working hard to produce legislation that emphasizes conservation and nutritional program funding as well as support for smaller, environmentally sustainable farms.

We are grateful for our senators' leadership in the effort to sow a new federal agriculture policy in which small farmers, consumers and the environment can all reap benefits.