Get Involved in the 2008 Farm Bill Discussion

Policy Committee Conference Calls

Members of the Southern SAWG Farm Policy Committee and others involved with agricultural policy throughout the region and from the national level participate in monthly conference calls to share and discuss ag policy information relevant to our local, regional, and national partners. 

SSAWG 2008 Policy Committee Conference Calls:
Please join our calls for up-to-the-minute news on the Farm Bill.

January 9
February 13
March 12
April 9
May 14
June 11
July 9
August 13
September 10
October 8
November 12
December 10

Calls generally take place at 9:00 am (central), 10:00 am (eastern) on the second Wednesday of the month.

To participate or if you have questions, contact Lydia Villanueva: 806.364.4445; toll-free: 866.684.4445; or email policy@ssawg.org.

About Farm Policy Education

Southern SAWG 's goal for Policy Education is to increase political and institutional support for sustainable agriculture. We do this through four avenues:

• We educate constituents and other supporters about the impact of food and agriculture  policies on farmers, their communities, food security and the earth;
• We educate decision-makers about these impacts and the alternatives;
• We monitor federally funded agriculture programs and take action to ensure they are administered with transparency, accountability, diversity and effectiveness; and
• We represent our region in the national-level effort to change federal food and agriculture policies and programs.

Policy News

Senate Passes Farm Bill
House-Senate Conference to Determine Final Law

On December 14, 2007, the Senate passed its version of a Farm Bill.  It includes substantial progress as well as disappointments for family farm, community food systems, and sustainable farming constituents.  Advancements include expanded conservation incentives, community food systems funding, support for beginning and minority farmers, farm-to-school program support,   and better markets and protections for contract farmers.  Your calls for support have been heard!

With final language still to be settled for the Farm Bill, now is not the time to tire in advocacy efforts.  Your calls and advocacy efforts are still needed to inform and influence the piece of legislation that when enacted into law will govern federal food and farm policy over the next five years.

Read more...

Conference Sessions on Policy

Each year, we produce several sessions on critical policy issues and sustainable agriculture programs for the Southern SAWG Annual Conference. These help producers understand and access programs, and learn effective measures for educating their legislators.

At the 2007 Conference, about 50 people gathered for a reception and a series of brief presentations on key policy issues related to sustainable agriculture in the 2007 Farm Bill, and the Kellogg Foundation-funded Food and Farm Policy Project.   Copies of several documents and summaries were circulated, including: the Food and Farm Policy Project (FFPP) Declaration, released on January 22; summaries of the Diversity Initiative and the Healthy Foods and Communities Initiative; and four policy statements (conservation, rural development, competition/concentration, and research/extension) released by Midwest SAWG/Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (SAC); and a summary of unmet policy needs for the South, identified at a similar reception during the 2006 Southern SAWG conference. For complete minutes of this meeting, click here (.doc format).

Action Alerts

We are working to create and maintain email/phone/fax trees in all states in our region to widely disseminate information and Action Alerts that both educate and empower individuals to take action in support of sustainable agriculture.

Partners and Collaborators

Southern SAWG Farm Policy Committee Members:

Lydia Villavueva, Southern SAWG Farm Policy Coordinator

Scott Marlow, RAFI-USA

Marty Mesh, Florida Organic Growers

Mark Schonbeck, Virginia Association for Biological Farming

At the national level, Southern SAWG is an official partner of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, which brings together diverse local, state, regional and national organizations to identify problems and work on solutions, and to help grassroots concerns be heard in Washington , D.C.  Other farm policy partners include:

Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Farm & Food Policy Project-W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Community Food Security Coalition
National Family Farm Coalition

Farmers' Legal Action Group, Inc.

The Southern SAWG Annual Conference and the state communication networks also serve as forums for constituent organizations and individuals in our network to discuss barriers to sustainable agriculture and ideas for policy to address these. In this way, Southern SAWG ensures that these Southern priorities are included in the national dialogue on federal policy.

We are also one of five Sustainable Agriculture Working Groups across the country working independently, but collaboratively, to change federal food and agriculture policy so that it promotes sustainable systems that keep farmers on the land, protect our precious ecosystems, and provide safe, secure and nutritious food for all.

Southern SAWG also identifies and nominates qualified individuals to serve on national and regional decision-making bodies of such programs as the USDA Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program. We also maintain strong relationships with the administration of the SARE Program in order to ensure transparency and accountability in this program.

Together with committee members and our regional and national partners, we work to:

• Recommend federal sustainable agriculture legislation;
• Educate Congressional leaders, especially those from the South, about the importance of sustainable agriculture legislation and amendments;
• Ensure that USDA and other federal departments/agencies create new sustainable agriculture programs that match the intent of the legislation authorizing them; and
• Ensure that these programs are actually administered in support of sustainable agriculture.

If you would like more information about our Farm Policy Education, contact Lydia Villanueva, policy@ssawg.org.