Washington, D.C., June 22, 2023 – Last week, the Kiss the Ground Advocacy team was in D.C. for a Farm Bill fly-in to advocate for the Business Case for Regenerate Agriculture alongside business members of Regenerate America and the American Sustainable Business Network.
With more than 2 dozen businesses and partners in attendance, including Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed, Oatly, Unilever, Cooks Venture, Dr. Bronner’s, and OP2B, we held meetings with 35 Congressional offices on both sides of the aisle.
Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed representatives with Congressman Dean Phillips and staff.
Representatives from businesses underscored the private investments they are making to help producers in their network transition to regenerative practices, but that private investment alone isn’t enough. Producers of all sizes and systems should be able to receive training, education, and support to successfully implement regenerative agriculture principles on their land directly from the USDA. Doug Petry of OP2B shared details from their recent report, which indicated that the early stages of transitioning to regenerative practices are most important – studies show that the first 3-5 years of the transition phase pose the greatest financial risk, but that in the long-term, producers can see as high as a15-25% 10-year return on investment. The report indicates that the next Farm Bill is crucial for ensuring farmers and ranchers are able to rely on public support to make the transition, not just private partnerships.
Businesses also shared why it’s necessary to rebuild the ‘missing middle’ or regional infrastructure and develop regional, resilient supply chains to meet the increasing demand for regeneratively produced products. In an increasingly uncertain economy, disrupted by erratic climate conditions and global supply chain instability, building local and regional supply chains is not only an issue of national security, it’s an economic interest.
Many key crops, including oats and soy, are currently difficult to source regeneratively in the U.S., causing businesses to move certain aspects of their supply chains abroad. With greater investment in regenerative production via the Farm Bill, they would in time be able to source these products domestically, strengthening their supply chains and revitalizing rural communities in the process.
Members of the West Georgia Young Farmer’s Cooperative with House Ag Minority staff.
Cooks Venture and Unilever with Rep. Westerman’s staff.
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Following the Hill day event on Wednesday, the House Ag committee closed its portal for public and member Farm Bill feedback on Friday – thanks to the success of the fly-in and the incredible advocacy by partners and supporters across the country who wrote and called their representatives, sixteen House Members championed 6 of the top policy proposals that were advocated for on the Hill, which will be essential in helping more farmers to transition to regenerative practices.
Take action: For these proposals to make it into the final Farm Bill, we need more bipartisan support – that is why we are calling on organizations, businesses, farms, and nonprofits that care about supporting farmers in their efforts to regenerate land to please consider signing and sharing the following sign-on letters:
- Training for Regenerative Agriculture in NRCS programs (TRAIN Act) sign-on letter: This will help get NRCS and technical service providers more up-to-speed on how to regenerate farmland.
- Farmer to Farmer Soil Health Networks sign-on letter: This will provide much needed funding for peer learning opportunities – the ways farmers learn best!
- Soil Health and Regenerative Agriculture Equipment (SHARE Act) sign on letter – producers can’t transition without access to equipment like roller crimpers, no-till drills, and mobile fencing – this program would also allow for equipment sharing.
In just over one year, we have built an incredible campaign, driven by a broad, bipartisan coalition and public supporters from across the country and all political stripes. As the Senate and House Ag Committees begin to put pen to paper and write the next Farm Bill, join us in acting today to build a better food and agriculture system for the future!
