Changing Times for Small Farms Says NFFC Director
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 3:36pm.
Andrew Jenner
Virginia Correspondent
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — Changing times have brought wins and losses for small farmers, according to Kathy Ozer, director of the National Family Farm Coalition.
Delivering the keynote address at the 11th annual conference of Future Harvest-CASA, a nonprofit focused on issues of farm sustainability, Ozer discussed what she sees as positive and negative developments in U.S. agriculture during the first year of the Obama administration and since the enactment of the 2008 Farm Bill.
The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) represents numerous organizations that advocate on behalf of small farms and rural communities in 32 states, with the common goal of allowing small farms and farmers to survive and thrive.
“We feel very strongly that the government has a role in making that happen,” said Ozer, who began her talk with a description of the NFFC’s work to influence domestic and international U.S. agricultural policy. The NFFC, she said, has recently been involved in policy debates regarding credit access for small farmers, the review and approvals process for genetically engineered crops and the protection of a safe, healthy and sustainable American food system.
According to Ozer, one of the most encouraging events of the past year has been progress made on diversity initiatives at the USDA. Heightened awareness of diversity issues, she said, will allow all farmers, regardless of race, farm size or commodity produced, more equitable access to credit and other resources theoretically available to them through the USDA.
Ozer also said the NFFC is pleased with a U.S. Department of Justice plan to hold a series of workshops across the country to discuss conglomeration and consolidation in different agricultural sectors. She described the workshops as an opportunity to influence policy that affects small farmers.
The past year has also brought challenges, said Ozer. One of the NFFC’s biggest concerns, she said, is the way that price volatility remains a serious and constant problem for many sectors of the agricultural economy.
She also discussed a petition delivered last fall to Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack, requesting that the USDA suspend certain loan programs that, according to petitioners, exacerbate oversupply problems in the swine and poultry industries. Ozer described the suspension of the loan programs – a recommendation the USDA has not acted on – as an obvious and easy policy decision. The USDA’s inaction is “a good example of how good ideas … can’t make decisions themselves,” said Ozer, adding that good ideas need commitment and support from people to materialize.
A final point of concern Ozer discussed was President Obama’s nomination of Islam Siddiqui as the chief agricultural negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative. Ozer said Siddiqui opposed sustainability initiatives in his role as an executive at CropLife America – an association representing major pesticide manufacturers and distributors. The NFFC, she said, organized another petition drive and delivered 75,000 signatures opposing Siddiqui’s nomination to the Obama administration.
“We need to hold our government accountable,” Ozer said.
To conclude her presentation, Ozer described herself and an optimist and said she remains hopeful that policies affecting small farms and farmers in the U.S. will continue to improve.
“That’s why I keep doing this work,” she said.
Future Harvest-CASA, which hosted the conference, is a Maryland-based nonprofit organization that promotes agricultural, environmental and community sustainability.
Two hundred and fifty-five people attended the two-day conference, held at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va. Workshop topics were grouped by theme, with focuses on grazing systems, sustainable fruit and vegetable production, adding value to a farm, urban agriculture and community food issues.
Andrew JennerVirginia Correspondent
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — Changing times have brought wins and losses for small farmers, according to Kathy Ozer, director of the National Family Farm Coalition.
Delivering the keynote address at the 11th annual conference of Future Harvest-CASA, a nonprofit focused on issues of farm sustainability, Ozer discussed what she sees as positive and negative developments in U.S. agriculture during the first year of the Obama administration and since the enactment of the 2008 Farm Bill.
The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) represents numerous organizations that advocate on behalf of small farms and rural communities in 32 states, with the common goal of allowing small farms and farmers to survive and thrive.
“We feel very strongly that the government has a role in making that happen,” said Ozer, who began her talk with a description of the NFFC’s work to influence domestic and international U.S. agricultural policy. The NFFC, she said, has recently been involved in policy debates regarding credit access for small farmers, the review and approvals process for genetically engineered crops and the protection of a safe, healthy and sustainable American food system.
According to Ozer, one of the most encouraging events of the past year has been progress made on diversity initiatives at the USDA. Heightened awareness of diversity issues, she said, will allow all farmers, regardless of race, farm size or commodity produced, more equitable access to credit and other resources theoretically available to them through the USDA.
Ozer also said the NFFC is pleased with a U.S. Department of Justice plan to hold a series of workshops across the country to discuss conglomeration and consolidation in different agricultural sectors. She described the workshops as an opportunity to influence policy that affects small farmers.
The past year has also brought challenges, said Ozer. One of the NFFC’s biggest concerns, she said, is the way that price volatility remains a serious and constant problem for many sectors of the agricultural economy.
She also discussed a petition delivered last fall to Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack, requesting that the USDA suspend certain loan programs that, according to petitioners, exacerbate oversupply problems in the swine and poultry industries. Ozer described the suspension of the loan programs – a recommendation the USDA has not acted on – as an obvious and easy policy decision. The USDA’s inaction is “a good example of how good ideas … can’t make decisions themselves,” said Ozer, adding that good ideas need commitment and support from people to materialize.
A final point of concern Ozer discussed was President Obama’s nomination of Islam Siddiqui as the chief agricultural negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative. Ozer said Siddiqui opposed sustainability initiatives in his role as an executive at CropLife America – an association representing major pesticide manufacturers and distributors. The NFFC, she said, organized another petition drive and delivered 75,000 signatures opposing Siddiqui’s nomination to the Obama administration.
“We need to hold our government accountable,” Ozer said.
To conclude her presentation, Ozer described herself and an optimist and said she remains hopeful that policies affecting small farms and farmers in the U.S. will continue to improve.
“That’s why I keep doing this work,” she said.
Future Harvest-CASA, which hosted the conference, is a Maryland-based nonprofit organization that promotes agricultural, environmental and community sustainability.
Two hundred and fifty-five people attended the two-day conference, held at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va. Workshop topics were grouped by theme, with focuses on grazing systems, sustainable fruit and vegetable production, adding value to a farm, urban agriculture and community food issues.
