By SHERRY BUNTING  /  Special for Farmshine

OMAHA, Neb. – During her visit in Nebraska this week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins released the first set of new USDA policy proposals referred to as the Small Family Farms Policy Agenda, as part of her Make Agriculture Great Again initiative.

This initial rollout comes just 12 days after holding the first Farmers First Roundtable with 20 smaller farmers and ranchers from 11 states, along with the board of directors for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, in Washington on May 7, and after nearly 100 days of the Secretary traveling the nation to visit directly with farmers of all types and sizes.

The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) estimates 86% of all farms in the U.S. are small family farms, defined as having gross cash farm income below $350,000. Under this definition, small family farms operate on 41% of U.S. agricultural land, while producing just 17% of the total value of agricultural production (Fig. 1).

USDA intends to “better define family farm,” while working to ensure these farms can start and stay in business by understanding the challenges and barriers— especially for the next generation.

In fact, the document states that, “USDA is currently reviewing farm size definitions to ensure they adequately reflect modern-day realities while also helping to ensure that the extensive resources that USDA makes available are appropriately tailored to the needs (and size) of farms.”

The proposals in the 14-page document are a comprehensive framework described as a “toolkit” that includes several “actionable” policy solutions toward “improving the viability of smaller-scale family farms for generations to come,” according to a USDA press release.

The Secretary specifically cites these three topline objectives for the May 19 policy rollout: streamlining application processes; improving reliable access to credit, access to farmland, and access to markets; and providing appropriate business planning tools.

Two “action items” jump out under the heading of “Providing Greater Access to Farmland” with the goal of ensuring working farmland is used to farm.

Access to farmland

USDA intends to reform federal land permits as well as working with other entities on regulatory solutions to keep solar farming off productive farmland. These are two action pieces that standout to this reporter.

New and beginning farmers, as well as the next generation on existing farms, are disadvantaged when they cannot compete for land needed for their operations to take hold in food production agriculture.

Examples occur when solar subsidies offered to non-farming landlords make it impossible for farmers to continue renting ground to grow crops to feed dairy cows and other production livestock. This can put young and beginning farmers and ranchers out of business or forestall their needs to expand to accommodate a farm transition.

First, the USDA plans to target productive farmland to farming, not solar farms.

Specifically, the document states that,   “USDA will disincentivize the use of federal funding at USDA for solar panels to be installed on productive farmland through prioritization points and regulatory action. Farmland should be for agricultural production, not solar production. We call on state and local governments to work alongside USDA on local solutions.”

Second, the USDA plans to address how it manages millions of acres of federal land in the form of national forests and grasslands, and how grazing permits are managed.

Specifically, the document states that, “To enhance flexibilities and ensure working lands stay working, the U.S. Forest Service is reforming the National Environmental Policy Act and pursuing additional flexibilities for permittees and leases, especially for farmers, ranchers, and adjacent landowners.”

Third, the USDA plans to use its range of existing programs through Farm Service Agency (FSA) and National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and other means to help farm and ranch families keep land in agriculture and mitigate tax burdens.

Fourth, the USDA plans to address rising land costs by reforming the FSA and RD loan programs to streamline delivery and increase program efficiencies, ensuring small producers can have reliable access to credit and farmland.

Transitions for the future

Under the heading of “Transitioning Farms to the Next Generation,” the USDA policy document shows plans to work with Congress to reform the U.S. tax code.

This includes protecting the vast majority of farms and ranches from an increase in the death tax. The document also calls on Congress to expand Section 179, which allows eligible small businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying farm and business equipment upfront. It also seeks Congressional action to restore 100% bonus depreciation expensing. If phased out in 2025, family farms, among others, will be unable to immediately deduct their business investments,” the document notes. (Some of this is included in the budget reconciliation package now moving through Congress.)

Several policy pieces are included in the rollout that seek participation from state and local governments to work alongside USDA on local solutions that eliminate or minimize death tax penalties as well.

Another forward-looking piece is the 2018 Farm Bill’s language for a Commission on Farm Transitions to evaluate agriculture’s needs for 2050. Getting this piece enacted is another policy objective to identify ways the USDA and U.S. Dept. of Treasury can support farm transitions so that operations remain in production.

Access to markets

While the USDA Secretary has been criticized for ending the local farm to school and cooperative food bank programs that the previous administration put in place with CCC funds not intended for ongoing programs, the new policy directive now provides some similar approaches with renewed purposes under the heading “Providing Small Family Farms with Greater Access to Markets and Infrastructure.”

One action is to overhaul and reform the Biden Administration’s Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities into what will be known as the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) Initiative. This is meant to ensure a minimum of 65% of federal funds associated with these programs go directly to producers instead of other entities and that they expand markets, strengthen farms, and/or add to domestic food and energy production.

Additional actions in this section prioritize local farmers in the procurement of food for institutional and publicly-funded USDA nutrition programs such as Section 32, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the SNAP Healthy Incentives, the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, and the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program.

Farm labor needs

USDA will leverage the Ag Labor Affairs Coordinator to work with the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to address the critical issue of labor access for farmers.

This will include coordinated solutions as well as work with Congress on reforming H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant visa classification in a way that makes sense for farmers to diversify or grow their businesses with access to reliable labor.

Business needs

A host of existing programs on risk management and income support are mentioned, including the many programs under FSA and RMA. An educational component for farmers to understand and use risk management and business planning programs, as well as special provisions to expand access for small farmers, are included.

“America’s family farms help feed, fuel, and clothe the world, but they also face some of the greatest challenges in getting their farms started and keeping them running. Putting Farmers First means addressing the issues farmers face head-on and fostering an economic environment that doesn’t put up roadblocks on business creation but removes them,” said Secretary Rollins from the podium in Omaha, Nebraska.

“Today’s policy agenda is tailored specifically to support small-scale farms. President Trump knows America’s economic prosperity depends on the success of our farmers and ranchers,” she said.

Several state governors and state secretaries of agriculture have weighed in with positive remarks about the Small Family Farms Policy Agenda.

In total the Small Family Farms Policy Agenda includes 10 areas of emphasis outlined by the Secretary, along with the promise of additional working documents in the future, especially in striking partnerships with state and local governments as well as private industry.

The bottom line is USDA is seeking to understand the challenges farmers face — whether they are governmental or non-governmental challenges — to see where its policies can assist and where existing programs should be targeted and how they can be improved.