California Black Farmers join a nationwide effort to impact the 2012 Farm Bill

November 1, 2011

California State Capitol
Media Advisory ~ South Steps
11:00 a.m.

Honorable Debbie Stabenow
Chairwomen, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry

Honorable Pat Roberts
Ranking Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry

Honorable Frank Lucas
Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

Honorable Collin Peterson
Ranking Member, U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

Dear Chairwoman Stabenow, Chairman Lucas, and Ranking Members Roberts and Peterson:

As you continue to work toward an agriculture package for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (often referred to as the Super Congress), we the undersigned organizations whose programs and services impact and effect Black Agriculture producers and African American communities nationally would like to submit to you a list of urgent priorities related to farm bill programs.

2012 Farm Bill program priorities listed in this letter directly impact socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and underserved communities throughout the United States.

We urge you to ensure the final agriculture package will increase economic opportunity for black farmers, improve job creation in the agriculture and food systems, ensure proper nutrition for all families, and create a sustainable environment.

All of our organizations have recommendations for the farm bill that extend beyond the specific issues in this letter, however, our focus here is on the specifics of transparency, equity, and accountability of programs and services within the farm bill that will affect African American farmers and their communities.

This Coalition of Organizations urge you to support the following programs that impact Black Agriculture producers and Underserved Communities:

• Support, and expand funding and implementation of Cost-Share Assistance for Organic Certification. Increases mandatory funding for National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program that requires State and Federal recordkeeping, and requires Secretary to submit annual report to Congress describing State expenditures.

• Reauthorize Value-Added Agricultural Producer Grants, Value-Added Agricultural Product Marketing Development Grants benefit farmers to start marketing, development and distribution of their goods, that allows for small socially disadvantage farmers the opportunity to increase their profit.

• Enforce and support Transparency and Accountability. This requires annual, public reporting in both electronic and paper form of county-, State-, and national-level application and program data for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. It also requires inclusion of both raw numbers and calculated rates.

As your work continues on proposals for the 2012 Farm Bill, it is critical that all policy and funding recommendations are transparent, accountable, and increase opportunities for all underserved communities.

Thank you for your consideration of our views.

Sincerely,

Beverly Hall, American Indian Mothers, Inc., North Carolina
Melvin Bishop, African American Family Farmers, Inc., Georgia
Michael Harris, Black Farmers and Agriculturalist Association, California
Tanikka Cunningham, Healthy Solutions, Inc., Washington DC
Yvette Brown, Sejah Farm, US Virgin Islands
Cynthia Hayes, Southeastern Green Network, Inc., Georgia
Kwasi Densu, Southeastern African American Farmers Organic Network (SAAFON), GA
Tommie Younger TELA, Alabama

cc: Members of the House Committee on Agriculture; Members of the Senate Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry