Northeastern farmers—and all who rely on them—need a robust agriculture bill

BY NED SULLIVAN

The 80,000 farms in the Northeastern states supply the freshest, healthiest food to 43 million people, contribute $70 billion to the economy, sustain nearly 340,000 jobs and can play a big role in addressing climate change. at’s some impact. Yet the U.S. Farm Bill—the federal government’s chief means of support for farming—provides relatively little aid to Northeastern farms, which are primarily small and midsize family operations.

E orts are underway to change that.

e Farm Bill is up for reauthorization by Congress this year. e Northeast Carbon Alliance, founded by environmental organization Scenic Hudson to advance natural climate solutions, is uniting farmers, farm organizations and groups that conserve farmland. e alliance is looking to ensure the upcoming bill addresses the concerns of Northeastern farmers and the long-overdue need for strengthening opportunity, equity and diversity in agriculture, especially for Black and Indigenous farmers. ough the alliance focuses on helping farmers and other land managers adopt practices that sequester carbon, it recognizes that to be part of the climate solution— and meet growing demands for locally produced food—farms must remain viable. at depends on confronting issues such as turbulent markets and supply-chain bottlenecks that make farming in the region so unpredictable. Another imperative is lling the void created by the large number of farmers approaching retirement age, making their elds and orchards more vulnerable to development.

Listening to farmers

A bill providing more robust investment in tackling those issues and encouraging climate-friendly farming and forest management is essential. Kicking o a collaborative campaign to secure it, Scenic Hudson and the Northeast Carbon Alliance held an event in November that brought together a broad mix of stakeholders including Robert Bonnie, the U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary, who is responsible for implementing climate-related provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill; Richard Ball and Amanda Beal, agriculture commissioners of New York and Maine, respectively; and then-Rep.-elect Marcus Molinaro of Dutchess County. e leaders listened to farmers— large and small, conventional and organic, urban and rural, vegetable and livestock—about their aspirations for the bill. ey heard how it could support a shift to practices o ering climate solutions, through nancial aid and training, while helping to keep farms thriving. From urban farmers the stakeholders learned about the need to pay living wages and make grant applications more accessible to people of color and members of other historically underserved communities. An Indigenous leader urged support for Native people’s e orts to restore environmental health through agroforestry— growing and cultivating food on forested lands. e event illustrated that the number and diversity of farms in the Northeast, coupled with their proximity to metropolitan areas, positions the region to be a national leader in advancing climate solutions as well as strengthening equity, opportunity and economic stability for current and future farmers while meeting the rising demand for fresh food.

We’re urging congressional leaders from the Northeast to join with us to secure Farm Bill funding that will support our goals. ■ www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise sales director Laura Lubrano laura.lubrano@crainsnewyork.com senior vice president of sales Susan Jacobs account executives Paul Mauriello, Marc Rebucci, Philip Redgate people on the move manager Debora Stein, dstein@crain.com

Ned Sullivan is president of Scenic Hudson, based in Poughkeepsie.

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