There are a lot of players in farm bill discussions nowadays, and as Politicoreports, all of them - in one way or another - are related.
On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Tuesday, Elise Golan, sustainable development director at the USDA, said the farm bill is flawed in that it segregates by topics such as nutrition, trade, conservation and horticulture.
“ … and we forget that all of these things affect each other and that we will be evaluated on our success based on how all these things fit together,” Golan said.
Hemp pilots, cover crops, aging farmers and access to capital were all on the table, as well.
Participants seemed to favor not cutting food aid or conservation programs and also advocated for more agricultural research and technology to help farmers do what they do better. There was also broad support for building supply chains that support farmers of all sizes, with a particular focus on helping small farmers get in the game and make a good enough living that their kids might also want to farm.