Sign On Letter: Support a Strong 2025 Farm Bill
Letter to Congressional Leaders in Support of a Strong 2025 Farm Bill
This letter comes from our friends at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC).
Please join us in sending the below letter to Congressional leaders urging the 119th Congress to deliver a 2025 farm bill that builds toward a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable food and farm system by addressing the harms of budget reconciliation.
The current deadline to sign is EOD Thursday, September 18th, 2025.
Dear Leader Thune, Leader Schumer, Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, Chair Boozman, Ranking Member Klobuchar, Chair Thompson, and Ranking Member Craig:
On July 4, the President signed into law a budget reconciliation bill (OBBB; P.L. 119-21) that delivers a vision for America, and the American food and farm system, that pits neighbor against neighbor. The OBBB delivers an unprecedented blow to local economies and the programs that help low-income people meet their basic needs. This includes devastating impacts to nutrition assistance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that will exacerbate hunger for millions of Americans, including children, older adults, and veterans. In the same pen stroke, the President also delivered one of the worst “farm bills” in modern history - using SNAP cuts to fuel farm subsidy increases that benefit only a select few, all while abandoning the vast majority of programs that meaningfully invest in most farmers and the communities they call home.
In the inescapable shadow of this unhealthy vision, we write to insist on a different path - a vision for a future where, together, we leverage agriculture policy to build our mutual prosperity. The federal farm bill, the keystone policy of the American food and farm system for the last century, is fundamental to that vision.
As you consider a “skinny” farm bill that despite its tiny name will impact every person in this country who eats, the XXX undersigned national, state, and local organizations stand together to say we will only support a farm bill that provides adequate and accessible SNAP benefits to families and individuals, makes our food safer, healthier, and more affordable; that supports good, family-sustaining jobs for food workers; and that supports family farmers and their communities, and ensures our food is produced in ways that are consistent with our values. Foundational to achieving this vision is directly addressing the harms ushered in by OBBB - correspondingly, Congress must reject any farm bill that fails to address the harms of budget reconciliation.
A farm bill worthy of this vision would invest in affordable, accessible, and healthy food for all by ensuring that families can purchase a healthy diet with dignity, increasing access to fruits and vegetables, and empowering communities to purchase nutritious food from local fishers and farmers. A good farm bill would ensure that our food is safe and free of toxins, meets animal welfare standards, and protects state and local pesticide laws. For the food and farm workers who make our food system possible, a good farm bill would ensure a living wage and protection from harm and harassment. Where our food system begins - with family farmers and the communities they call home - a good farm bill would level the playing field by supporting fair and competitive agricultural markets alongside vibrant local and regional supply chains. It would ensure that American farmers - including diversified, organic, young, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers - have fair access to essential tools they need to thrive - from credit and insurance, to affordable land and the opportunity to build climate-resilient businesses. Finally, a good farm bill would fully address the devastating and ongoing impacts of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s office closures, reorganizations, relocations, as well as the uncertainty exacerbated by funding freezes, award terminations, and staff firings - all of which have weakened the Department’s ability to serve farmers, rural small businesses, and food insecure communities.
Every successful farm bill coalition has been built on the foundation of bipartisanship and the next farm bill will be no different. Achieving this shared vision begins, but does not end, by addressing the harms of budget reconciliation. As organizations representing millions of individuals, farmers, workers, and families whose lives and livelihoods are impacted by the farm bill, we urge you to aim high toward a farm bill that restores Americans’ trust in the federal government by making our food safer and healthier, more accessible and affordable, supporting family farmers and their communities, and ensuring our food is produced in ways that are consistent with our values. Anything short of that fails our farmers, our communities, and us all.
Sincerely,
[Original signers]
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Environmental Working Group
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
National Young Farmers Coalition
Natural Resources Defense Council
Union of Concerned Scientists
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union