Farm Bill Supports New Mexico Farmers and Ranchers, Protects Families and the Environment

Congressman Urges Senate and President to Support Bill and Help N.M. Farmers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Tom Udall, D-N.M., today approved the bipartisan Food, Conservation and Energy Act, better known as the Farm Bill. The sweeping, bicameral legislation includes funding Udall helped secure to support New Mexico farm families, conservation efforts and renewable energy production. It passed the House by a large, veto-proof majority of 318-106.

Udall also called on the Senate to swiftly pass this legislation and on the president to suspend his veto threats and sign the critical measure into law.

"New Mexico ranks second in the nation in food insecurity and third in hunger," said Udall. "Thousands of New Mexicans are suffering from a lack of food, and more than 50 percent of New Mexico students benefit from the free lunch program. This bipartisan Farm Bill will help New Mexico families deal with these challenges during a time of economic uncertainty, and I urge the Senate and president to do what's right for our nation by passing it and signing it into law now."

Udall worked to ensure that several important provisions for New Mexico were included in the final Farm Bill legislation that passed today.

Among them was an increase in nutrition funding, which Udall called for in a letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Colin Peterson (MN) on January 30, 2008. In the letter, Udall notes that the average food stamp benefit is a mere $1 per person per meal, the minimum benefit level has been stuck at the same level for 30 years and the limit on assets for most food stamp households has not changed in two decades. As a result, millions of low-income households are unable to afford adequate food for themselves or their children. Roughly 77 percent of households receiving food stamps contain children.

The House and the Senate both passed legislation this year to help more low-income families buy food, but the Senate version would expire in 2013. Under that legislation, nearly 11 million low income Americans, including 100,000 New Mexicans, would see a massive benefits cut in 2013. Roughly 300,000 people would lose their benefits entirely.

Udall successfully pushed for the House language, which would protect low-income families past 2013, to be included in the final Farm Bill. As a result, New Mexico will receive an additional $77 million over the next ten years.

"We must do all we can to ensure our children have the strong foundation they need to succeed in life, and that means making sure none go hungry," said Udall. "I am proud to have helped protect millions of low-income families from food insecurity."

On February 15, 2008, Udall also wrote a letter to the House Speaker and Minority Leader, as well as the Chairman and Ranking Republican Member of the House Agriculture Committee, requesting additional funding for conservation incentives. These incentives help compensate farmers and ranchers for adopting practices that protect natural resources.

One such program, the Conservation Reserve Program, provides $57.4 million to 2,307 New Mexico recipients, making it the state's largest agriculture program. Under current funding levels, one-third of farmers seeking to participate in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs are turned away. The Farm Bill that passed today will provide $7.9 billion in additional conservation funding.

In his letter, Udall wrote, "We cannot and should not ask American farmers to choose between their bottom line and the smart, sensible preservation of the land they safeguard."

Udall wrote a similar letter last year calling for additional voluntary conservation funding. In that letter, he also requested that farmers and ranchers who have been impacted by conservation regulations get priority consideration for USDA assistance.

In addition to Udall's efforts, the Farm Bill will:

* Boost nutrition funding by $10.4 billion, including an additional $1.25 billion for food banks like those that serve 89,000 New Mexico families each month;
* Implement new security provisions to prevent fraud in nutrition programs, saving taxpayers money and helping ensure adequate funding for recipients;
* Provide additional funding to purchase Native American- and locally-grown foods;
* Require Country of Origin Labeling to let consumers know where their meat and produce come from;
* Provide $1.1 billion to help the renewable energy industry invest in new technologies that use a variety of sources beyond feed grains;
* Provide additional economic support for rural communities, including $120 million for critical rural water and wastewater projects;
* Give $1 billion to schools to help them provide healthy food to students;
* Reform and expand the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Outreach and Technical Assistance Program; and,
* Reform farm programs to target assistance where it is needed most.

The Farm Bill is supported by hundreds of organizations across the country and in New Mexico, including:

Agricultural Retailers Association

America’s Second Harvest

American Farm Bureau Federation

American Public Health Association

Bread for the World

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Farm Credit of New Mexico

The Fertilizer Institute

The Humane Society of the United States

Independent Community Bankers Association of New Mexico

National Conference of State Legislatures

National Cotton Council

National Milk Producers

NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty

New Mexico Food Depot

New Mexico Peanut Growers Association

New Mexico Voices for Children

New Mexico Wheat Growers

New Mexico Women Involved in Farm Economics

Rocky Mountain Farmers Union

Southwest Council of Agribusiness

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

United Fresh Produce Association

United Jewish Communities

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