3 Ways to Take Soil Health Policy Action
Soil is the foundation of our food and farming system - 95 percent of the food we eat is grown in our soils. Healthy, living soil produces healthy food, people and communities, while maintaining the long-term health of land and ecosystems.
Unfortunately, we are losing topsoil at a rate of 10 to 100 times faster than it is being replenished today, jeopardizing farmers’ economic security, worsening the impacts of flood and drought, and threatening biodiversity, food security, and the security of all industries that rely on agriculture. At the current rate of soil loss, the UN estimates we have 55 years of harvests left.
The good news is that rebuilding soil health can reverse this trajectory (faster than we ever thought possible!), and provide incredible benefits to producers and our country, including building rural prosperity, food security and resilience, restoring biodiversity, providing clean water and healthy food, and addressing climate change.
Despite all these benefits, only a small percentage of farmers have adopted the necessary practices on their operations. In many cases this is because of farm policy.
Agriculture is one of the most heavily subsidized industries in the US, with taxpayers spending an average of $16 billion per year on ag subsidies over the past decade. Yet, these funds often limit, or undermine, the adoption of soil health practices.
If we want to build a food and agriculture system that restores soil health and farm profitability, while strengthening the resilience of our lands, we have to be involved in policy.
Because soil health generates such a vast array of co-benefits, it is a common ground policy issue that can transcend old debates such as organic vs. conventional farming, urban vs. rural, and even red vs. blue, and unite diverse and disparate groups and interests, from conservation and rural groups to urban communities and food justice advocates. In soil health, we have a critical opportunity to align our interests and advance broad-based policies that improve the lives not only of our farmers and ranchers, but of all Americans.
Through farmer-first policies, we can create smarter incentives and the infrastructure needed to support producers at every stage of their soil health journey, and make resilient, regenerative agriculture economically viable.
3 ways to take soil health policy action:
The soil needs you! The opportunity to get your representatives to support the farmers who are leading this charge is within reach and is needed now more than ever! Here are a few ways you can get started as a soil health policy advocate:
1. Join our Soil Health Federal Bill Tracker e-list: Land Core tracks legislation introduced into Congress that could impact soil health and resilience in our federal soil health bill tracker. Subscribe to our e-list, where we provide monthly reports on the nearly 80 bills we’re tracking in the current Congress!
2. Contact your representative: Use the Legislators tab on our bill tracker to see which bills your rep is supporting & find their contact information. Making sure your representatives know that soil health and regenerative ag are priorities for you is invaluable!
3. Get involved with the 2023 Farm Bill: Passed every five years, the Farm Bill is the biggest piece of agriculture legislation in the United States, and sets our national approach to food and farming, through nearly $1 trillion in provisions for commodities, conservation, crop insurance, nutrition, and more. The next Farm Bill, scheduled to be passed in 2023, presents a historic opportunity to invest in the shift towards a regenerative, resilient agriculture system.
Ask if your representative is committed to supporting farmers who are calling for soil health-centered legislation in the 2023 Farm Bill.
Encourage your company or organization to put a plan in place to engage in the Farm Bill process.
Join a group, coalition or campaign advocating for regenerative ag in the Farm Bill! We will be sharing opportunities as the process unfolds.
Continue to support Land Core’s work advancing soil health policies and programs that create value for farmers, businesses and communities. We will be focusing on the 2023 Farm Bill as efforts ramp up in the coming months.