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To celebrate the launch of Regenerate America, we’re committed to getting you all informed on why the Farm Bill is important to you and your community. We’re throwing back to one of our favorite posts (and yours!) we made last year to get you started thinking about the Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill impacts the lives of all Americans – but many of us know nothing about it! Swipe through for a quick explainer of what the Farm Bill is, and why it is so important for farmers and ranchers, the environment, and you.
Join the our mission to #RegenerateAmerica through the link in our bio!
Purpose: Letters to the editor allow you to make the case for why you – as a community member, student, member of an organization, farmer, supporter – are a member of the Regenerate America coalition and why soil health is important to you. These personal accounts help people read why their neighbors, friends, other people like them, etc. are focused on soil health, regenerative practices, and the Farm Bill. Most local papers will have an option on their website for “Submitting a Letter to the Editor”.
Length: Approximately 250 words
Additional Guidance: If you need additional guidance on your Letter to the Editor, please contact [email protected]
Potential Topics
Environment: Healthy soil is the foundation of resilience and climate stability. Heavily degraded and rapidly eroding soils are causing flooding, drought, fires, extreme temperatures, and habitat and biodiversity loss. Regenerative agriculture not only rebuilds soil, it also replenishes fresh water sources, increases biodiversity, and actively sequesters carbon. By combining holistic management, Indigenous knowledge, and cutting edge science, through regenerative agriculture we will restore the natural resilience of ecosystems.
Farmers: Healthy soil is at the heart of farmer and rancher livelihoods. Degraded soils, that are lacking in essential soil life, are threatening farmers’ livelihoods and hollowing out rural communities. Ensuring support for regenerative agriculture in the Farm Bill will allow American farmers and ranchers to reduce spiraling input costs, providing them with the resources they need to prosper now and for generations to come. Farming and ranching once again becomes a path to strong, stable, and resilient rural communities.
Families and Consumers: Soil is the foundation of all life – essential to our health, and the health of our planet. Depleted and chemically-managed soils lead to nutrient deficient food and environmental harm. Regenerative agriculture rebuilds soil, ensuring we produce nutrient rich, local, healthy food and protect the planet. We will have access to more nutritious food choices and a healthier planet.
Food Prices + Security: International food and agricultural markets have been disrupted by the conflict in Ukraine – threatening our food supply and driving up input costs for America’s farmers. Transitioning to regenerative agriculture will make our fields more productive and our farmers less reliant on international markets for fertilizer.
KEY MESSAGES
Who are we?
Regenerate America is an unprecedented coalition of farmers, ranchers, non-profits, experts, companies, and citizens spanning the nation and the political spectrum. We are committed to rebuilding America’s soil by making regenerative agriculture the centerpiece of the next Farm Bill.
Regenerate America is about empowering farmers to rebuild our soil.
Through the widespread adoption of regenerative agriculture, we can bring prosperity to rural communities for this generation and generations to come, while improving food and water security and strengthening our climate resilience. This is the bipartisan issue of our time.
Why soil?
Healthy soil is the foundation of American resilience and prosperity, but our farmland is highly degraded and losing topsoil 10 times faster than it is currently being replenished. This rapidly eroding soil costs those who raise our livestock and grow our food an estimated $44 billion annually according to the USDA. As we fail to act, we suffer the consequences: increased farmer debt and input costs; desertification of fertile soil; depletion and pollution of water sources; loss of biodiversity and food nutrition levels; and more impact from extreme weather events like floods and droughts. The good news is that regenerative agriculture rebuilds our soil, and does so faster than we ever thought possible.
What is Regenerative Agriculture?
Simply, it’s a set of practices that rebuild healthy soil. Revolving around the principles of soil health and combining holistic management, Indigenous knowledge, and cutting-edge science, regenerative agriculture can be done at scale with any cropping or livestock system. It makes farming and ranching more profitable by reducing input costs, improves food quality and security, and repairs land function – providing countless benefits to our planet and our people.
How does this connect to the Farm Bill?
The U.S. Farm Bill, passed every five years, exerts tremendous influence on the health of our soil, through provisions for crop insurance, conservation, nutrition, rural investment, land access, and much more. The Regenerate AmericaTM coalition has set our sights on this legislation as an essential opportunity to provide tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers with the resources they need to adopt regenerative agriculture.
What should the Farm Bill do to support regenerative agriculture?
- Expand and refine education, technical service & implementation assistance
- Ensure equitable opportunity & access to all USDA programs.
- Improve regional access to infrastructure, processing, & equipment
- Increase access to healthy & regionally sourced food
- Increase farmland preservation and increase land access for historically underserved producers.
- Incentivize soil health and risk mitigation in federal crop insurance and lending.
TEMPLATE EXAMPLE
Dear Editor,
I’m writing to you as a community member in XX Community, as a member of XYZ organization (if applicable), and a supporter of Regenerate America, an unprecedented coalition of farmers, ranchers, non-profits, experts, companies, and citizens spanning the nation and the political spectrum who are committed to rebuilding America’s soil by making regenerative agriculture the centerpiece of the next Farm Bill.
(Approximately 100 words of personal story – why is soil health important to you).
Soil health is key to our health – it’s the foundation of our food, community, and lives. That’s why the 2023 Farm Bill must prioritize regenerative practices that rebuild our soil.
Sincerely,
Your Name Here
Your City, State
