WASHINGTON, CT – On Saturday, July 29, 2023, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture and Horticulture, welcomed Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, to the Fifth District of Connecticut. Ranking Member Hayes and Chairman Thompson hosted a 2023 Farm Bill Listening Session and heard from Connecticut stakeholders about their priorities for the reauthorization of the Farm Bill.
Participants in the listening session included stakeholders advocating for issues that cover numerous agricultural and food programs established by the Farm Bill.
The Fifth District is home to 1,404 farms, comprising 95,583 total acres, and the state of Connecticut has a total of 380,000 acres of farmland. Participants expressed the need to increase access to Department of Agriculture funding for small Connecticut farms, expand access to meat processing plants for smaller farmers, properly fund safety net programs and risk management measures like crop insurance, provide better resources and financial support to BIPOC, young and beginning farmers, and combat the impact of extreme weather and the climate crisis on farms as well.
In the 5th Congressional District of Connecticut there are 81,100 food insecure individuals. Representatives from food banks and food pantries stressed the importance of increasing access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for underserved Americans.
“I am committed to efforts to hear priorities from a diverse group of stakeholders based in Connecticut and across the nation and will continue working hard to strengthen and improve the 2018 Farm Bill.” said Congresswoman Hayes (CT-05). “I was happy to host Chairman “GT” Thompson in my district. Bipartisan efforts like this listening session are essential as we work towards crafting this bill.”
“The Farm Bill is a great opportunity to focus on the needs of rural communities and agriculture, but it also underscores the link between farmers and consumers through the nutrition programs that are such an important part of the bill. As ranking member of the Nutrition Subcommittee, Congresswoman Hayes has made these issues a top priority,” said Tom Cosgrove, Executive Vice President for Public Affairs at Farm Credit East. “Farm Credit East is proud to support those efforts in a number of ways, including $100,000 in farmers market grants we recently awarded to markets and farmers market organizations across the Northeast. Many of those markets are using those grants to extend SNAP benefits to more customers and improve healthy food access in underserved communities. We look forward to working with Chairman Thompson and dedicated members like Congresswoman Hayes to help pass a strong Farm Bill this year.”
“In the 5th District, Congresswoman Hayes talks to third generation owners of state-of-the-art dairy farms as easily as she talks to BIPOC farmers who only have access to brown fields in urban centers where they want to grow vegetables in environmentally sound shipping containers 365 days a year on soil that will never sustain agriculture. All these farmers have a need for new innovative marketing, climate smart growing practices and transparent funding systems that a new Farm Bill must offer. Small farmers in high population dense areas like Connecticut are the face of food security in times when shelves are empty and crisis is upon us whether it’s something like COVID or a climate driven storm event,” said Bonnie Burr, Assistant Director and Department Head with the Department of Extension in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources.
“We need more affordable technology for all farmers to better withstand disaster and supply chain issues. We appreciate the time Chairman Thompson from the House Agriculture Committee gave as he traveled to the district and listened to Congresswoman Hayes talk about providing balanced programs that allow all consumers to have access to healthy, locally grown products - at the same time farmers seek economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture production,” Burr continued.
“The Farm Bill has a profound effect on school meals and child nutrition. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, funded through the Department of Agriculture, allows schools to directly certify students for free school meals. Farm to School Grants have also had a positive effect on school meals. I am pleased to share my thoughts on the importance of the Farm Bill and the role it plays in feeding children,” said Becky Tyrrell, Food Service Director at EdAdvance.
"American Farmland Trust would like to thank Congressional House Agriculture Chairman Thompson and Congresswoman Hayes for hosting a Farm Bill Listening Session in CT this past weekend. As a national organization dedicated to protecting farmland, promoting sound farming practices, and keeping farmers on the land, we know passing a strong and conservation-forward Farm Bill is important to the future of our country's food system. We look forward to working with both Congressman Thompson and Congresswoman Hayes to pass and implement a Farm Bill that will support and further agriculture across Connecticut and the country,” said Chelsea Gazillo, New England Policy Manager, American Farmland Trust.
Numerous concerns expressed at the listening session align with the top Farm Bill priorities of Congresswoman Hayes, including:
- Boosting funding for nutrition incentive programs such as the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), which often helps local farmer’s markets increase community access to fresh fruits and vegetables
- Equally distributing disaster assistance to small and big states alike
- Continuing funding for the Dairy Margin Coverage program and expanding support for small- to medium-sized processing facilities to insulate local and regional food supply chains from disruptions at extensive, centralized facilities via the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program
- Authorizing new loan programs through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to better serve farmers during economic crises
- Addressing and correcting historic discrimination within the federal agricultural policy by establishing an independent civil rights oversight board to review appeals of civil rights complaints filed against USDA, investigate reports of discrimination within USDA, and provide oversight of Farm Service Agency County Committees
Ranking Member Hayes laid out a comprehensive list of her priorities for the next Farm Bill in a recent letter addressed to Agriculture Committee Chairman “GT” Thompson (PA-15) and Ranking Member David Scott (GA-13), which can be viewed here.
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