A Farm Bill Primer: Getting Ready for 2012

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The following is a nice short piece from Simple, Good, and Tasty with some useful links for introducing folks to the farm bill. Everyone interested in food and farming has a stake in this legislation, so whatever your perspective, I encourage you to read up and get involved. It’s a big piece of legislation, and can be daunting and complex, but it affects us all, and I encourage everyone to try to get involved in whatever capacity you can and on any issue that concerns you.

Every five-or-so years, Congress reconsiders the Farm Bill.  Since the last Farm Bill was passed in 2008, plans are underway to introduce new legislation in 2012. The Farm Bill does two things: it enacts mandatory programs, which are definitely funded — even if they go over budget, and authorizes discretionary programs, which later require money to be appropriated for them by Congress.

If you haven’t yet “Liked” our Facebook page, Understanding the Farm Bill: A Citizen’s Guide to a Better Food System (jointly created with folks from IATP), please visit us there, let us know what you think, “Like” us, and tell your friends.

Read the rest of Ann Butkowski’s article A Farm Bill Primer: Getting Ready for 2012 here.