Congressional Hearings Leading up to the 2023 Farm Bill

This article is one part of a series of articles tracking Congressional hearings leading up to the 2023 Farm Bill. To view all of the hearing tracking articles, click here.

To see all of EESI's resources on the 2023 Farm Bill, click here.

A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: The State of Credit for Young, Beginning and Underserved Producers

The House Agriculture Committee held this hearing on July 14, 2022 to discuss how young, beginning, and underserved producers are affected by financial assistance programs, such as those offered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Policy highlights from the hearing:

Beginning farmers are more likely to practice organic or sustainable farming, according to witness Julia Asherman, owner and operator of Rag and Frass Farm, as well as more likely to be “women, queer, people of color; and…first generation.”
Witness Adam Brown, farmer and owner of B&B farms attending on behalf of the Illinois Farm Bureau, remarked on how the USDA’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) allowed him to expand use of no-till farming practices, create a pollinator habitat, and use cover crops.
Willard Tillman, board member of the Rural Coalition, also recognized the importance of the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in controlling invasive species and providing solar water wells for cattle, as well as the importance of protecting people’s ability to own their land.
While detailing the risks faced by farmers, including invasive species and natural disasters, Tillman also noted that farmers who produce on land held in undivided interests (meaning the real estate title is held by multiple people, although the property is not divided) were ineligible for Natural Resources Conservation Service programs due to documentation requirements.

A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Stakeholder Perspectives on Title XI Crop Insurance

The House Agriculture Committee held this hearing on July 20, 2022 to discuss the risk management practices included in the 2018 Farm Bill and how they have been implemented, especially in light of recent volatility in economic and growing conditions.

Policy highlights from the hearing:

Bob Haney, CEO of Agrisompo, remarked that “crop insurance is a rapid response to disasters and is a farmer’s first line of defense against climate change.” He pointed out that farmers with crop insurance are obligated to follow “good farming practices,” noting the finding that farmers with crop insurance are more likely to undertake climate-smart practices than those without.
Haney also discussed the federal crop insurance 508(h) process, which allows private-sector individuals to develop new crop insurance products that can provide ideal risk management. Haney described the process as “a tool that can be used to enhance the intersection between climate and crop insurance” and argued that these intersections should be structured as incentives for climate-smart agriculture, not penalties or mandates.
Lee Cromley, sixth-generation farmer and board member of American Cotton Producers, called for additional improvements to the Risk Management Agency’s Hurricane Insurance Policy-Wind Index (HIP-WI) program, like covering damage from tropical storms and depressions, not just hurricanes. As increased temperature is linked with the possibility of increased drought prevalence and storm intensity, climate change will likely play a role in the importance of HIP-WI.

An Examination of the USDA Hemp Production Plan

The House Agriculture Committee held this hearing on July 28, 2022 to discuss regulations surrounding industrial hemp—which can be used for textiles, food products, farm products, and more—and its potential as a carbon-negative crop.

Policy highlights from the hearing:

Eric Wang, CEO of Ecofibre, underscored the importance of establishing a clear regulatory path for cannabinoid (CBD) in the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill, explaining that industrial hemp is a carbon solution that is considered “one of the most carbon-negative agricultural or forestry crops available.”
Wang also commented that the unused portion of the hemp plant, which contains a high amount of carbon, could be used to create “hemp black,” a bio-based dye made with a carbon-negative input that can be used as a replacement for petroleum-based black dye.
Kate Greenberg, commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, recommended the stabilization of the hemp regulatory environment, the build-up of supply chain processing and manufacturing opportunities, and the connection of hemp producers to climate markets and other carbon-neutral markets as ways to support stable growth for the hemp industry.

A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Forestry

The House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on July 13, 2022 to discuss forest challenges, opportunities, programs, and management practices.

Policy highlights from the hearing:

Randy Moore, Chief of USDA’s Forest Service, commented on the importance of forests as the United States’ “largest terrestrial carbon sink,” with forests and their products offsetting almost 15 percent of the nation’s total carbon dioxide emissions and with the U.S. Forest Service contributing over $35 billion to the GDP.
Moore highlighted the importance of several forestry programs making a big difference in the industry, such as the Wood Innovation Grants (WIG) program, the Forest Legacy Program (FLP), and the Community Forest Program and Open Space Conservation Program (CFP). WIG supports expansions of wood products and wood energy markets, like making use of small-diameter, low-value timber. The Forest Legacy Program, meanwhile, has protected almost three million acres of working forested lands since its creation. Finally, the CFP has protected over 20,000 acres permanently through simple fee programs, bringing private lands that might otherwise be converted to non-forest uses into community ownership.
Moore also responded that opportunities stemming from the Good Neighbor Authority, Shared Stewardship, and Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program have been some of the most helpful of all the authorities given in the 2018 Farm Bill.
Speaking further on the Good Neighbor Authority, Christopher Martin, Connecticut State Forester and president of the National Association of State Foresters( on behalf of the National Association of State Foresters), recommended expanding the authority to all federal land management agencies and adjusting the program to ensure Indigenous nations and counties have the authorization to invest timber sale revenues in conservation.
Rita Hite, President and CEO of the American Forest Foundation, noted that 85 percent of forest owners are not working with a forester and that they need technical and financial resources to best manage their lands.
Hite also underscored the importance of leveraging the voluntary carbon market for improving and sustaining forest stewardship programs.
Sally Palmer, Central Appalachian External Affairs Advisor at the Nature Conservancy, commented on the importance of federal funding and investments to address biodiversity losses, as well as ensuring that the forestry benefits of the 2023 Farm Bill serve “minority foresters, forest landowners and workers, and enable Tribal management and/or co-management of forests.”
For more on wildfire management, check out EESI’s briefing on wildfires.

Douglas Reed, president of Green Diamond Resources, on behalf of the National Alliance of Forest Owners, underscored the importance of the Forestry Inventory Analysis (FIA) program in providing reliable information to stakeholders about America’s forests. He also called for standardized data collection protocols and a national 5-year measurement cycle to ensure data credibility and uniformity.
Rebecca A. Humphries, CEO at the Wild Turkey Federation, recommended the active promotion of prescribed burning as a forest management tool, reauthorizing the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and authorizing 20-year Stewardship contracts at a national level, among other things.

A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Title XII - Department Operations and Outreach

The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations held a hearing on September 29 to discuss Title XII of the Farm Bill, with a focus on programs that conduct outreach to underserved agricultural producers. There were no significant climate, environmental, or energy policy highlights from this hearing.

A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Stakeholder Perspectives on Title II Conservation Programs

The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry held this hearing on September 20 to review USDA Farm Bill conservation programs.

Policy highlights from this hearing:

Voluntary, locally-led, and incentive-based USDA Farm Bill conservation programs reduce soil erosion, mitigate climate change, protect habitats, and enhance water quality and conservation. These programs include the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, Conservation Reserve Program, and Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
The demand for USDA conservation programs is high, but supply of funding is limited. Less than half of applicants receive funding.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (P.L.117-69) provides crucial funding for USDA conservation programs. According to Michael Crowder, president of the National Association of Conservation Districts, the IRA raises administrative challenges that “will require close coordination between USDA, Congress, states, producers, and partners.”
Lori Faeth, senior director of government relations at the Land Trust Alliance, pointed out the conservation benefits of USDA’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). Faeth recommended increasing funding for ACEP Agricultural Land Easements, setting aside ACEP funds for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers, and exempting ACEP from the adjusted gross income limitation.
To conserve forestlands, Faeth recommended “enhancing the Healthy Forests Reserve Program by creating a stand-alone Forest Conservation Easement Program that ensures private forestlands remain intact and in production.”
Technical assistance is crucial for agricultural producers to implement conservation practices. Specifically, Crowder pointed out the importance of USDA’s Conservation Technical Assistance Program.
Flexibility is important within conservation programs to ensure that farmers can find conservation approaches that work for their crop, region, and operation.
Organizations have formed Farm Bill working groups. The Land Trust Alliance created the Farm Bill Working Group which plans to release 2023 Farm Bill recommendations. The National Association of Conservation Districts’ Farm Bill Task Force plans to do the same.

A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Broadband

The House Agriculture Committee held this hearing on September 15 to discuss broadband access.

Policy highlights from this hearing:

Up to 12 percent of Americans lack access to high-speed internet, and the issue is especially acute in rural areas.

To learn more about the connection between broadband and climate, read EESI’s issue brief, Closing the Digital Divide: How Rural Broadband Benefits Communities and the Climate.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L.117-58) provides $65 billion to expand rural broadband, including $2 billion for USDA’s Reconnect Program. Hearing witnesses urged all federal agencies to coordinate to ensure these investments are maximized and that funding is not duplicated in certain areas. Lynn Follansbee, vice president of strategic initiatives and partnerships at USTelecom, stated that Congress should consider formalizing the ReConnect Program in the 2023 Farm Bill as it is currently in a pilot phase.
Follansbee recommended that USDA and other agencies align on a definition of broadband and that broadband programs should focus on communities with no broadband access.
The Federal Communications Commission’s Precision Agriculture Task Force, created as part of the 2018 Farm Bill, has issued a series of recommendations for expanding broadband access on underserved agricultural land.
Tarryl Clark, First District Commissioner of Stearns County, Minnesota (on behalf of the National Association of Counties), recommended that counties should play a central role in implementing federal broadband funding.
According to President of the Missouri Farm Bureau Garrett Hawkins, precision agriculture, which requires broadband access, is helping agricultural

Check out this USDA report, A Case for Rural Broadband: Insights on Rural Broadband Infrastructure and Next Generation Precision Agriculture Technologies.

producers be more efficient and sustainable in deploying fertilizers, watering crops, and applying herbicides and pesticides.
The Broadband DATA Act (P.L.116-130), passed in 2020, is helping to improve the accuracy of broadband maps and identify priority areas with limited or no broadband access to better direct federal funds.

Farm Bill 2023: Rural Development and Energy Programs

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held this hearing on November 15, 2022, to review programs in the rural development and energy titles of the Farm Bill.

Policy highlights from this hearing:

Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small explained that the Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) and the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) are helping rural communities shift towards renewable energy sources and embrace energy efficiency.
Mike Casper, president and CEO of Jo-Carroll Energy, an electric cooperative in Illinois, explained that while RESP results in $20 in benefits for every $1 of federal investment in the program, participation in RESP can be a “large administrative undertaking for a cooperative.'' He suggested that the Committee should consider easing these burdens through a grant component similar to other USDA programs. He also stated that REAP is another important program for electric cooperatives, and REAP grants have helped Jo-Carroll Energy install a community solar array and assist its members with energy efficiency upgrades, helping to save consumers money and reduce energy use.

Farm Bill 2023: Research Programs

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held this hearing on December 6, 2022, to discuss programs in the research title of the Farm Bill.

Policy highlights from this hearing:

USDA’s Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Chavonda Jacobs-Young explained that 10 USDA Climate Hubs help agricultural producers access the Department’s climate science and research, which in turn enables them to make climate-informed decisions.
Several witnesses underscored that public funding for agricultural research is declining. In the United States, every $1 spent on agriculture research generates $20 in benefits, yet federal investments in agricultural research have declined by a third in the past two decades. The United States “now trails far behind other major nations in public agricultural research investments,” according to Jacobs-Young.
C.S. Mott Chair for Sustainable Agriculture and Co-Director of the Michigan State University Center for Regenerative Agriculture Jason Rowntree called for expanding USDA’s Cooperative Research and Extension Services to help scale up regenerative agriculture as a climate solution.
Rowntree and Steve Ela, partner and manager of Ela Family Farms, explained that increased support and funding are needed to meet the high demand for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which is helping producers with experimental and on-farm research. Ela also advocated for additional support for programs that assist organic producers, including increased funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative and the Organic Transitions Program to $100 million and $20 million, respectively, by the end of the 2023 Farm Bill.