2023 Farm Bill and Louisiana Small-Scale Producers: Building the Louisiana Food + Agriculture Change Network (LFACN)
Summary
The following report is a summary of efforts by Louisiana producers to influence the 2023 Farm Bill through the creation and facilitation of the Louisiana Food + Agriculture Change Network. This work has been coordinated by the Food Policy Action Council (FPAC) and Sprout, in partnership with the Louisiana Small-Scale Agriculture Coalition. The following is written from the perspective of FPAC and is intended to give a high-level summary of the work from our point of view as the coordinators of this work. We hope that participating producers, especially those who came to our listening sessions, will find this useful. The majority of this report focuses on relaying information about organizing efforts and outcomes, with specific attention to a series of 6 statewide listening sessions conducted in 2022-2023.
Our Organizing Approach- Work to Date, Ongoing Efforts, and Upcoming Opportunities
This project resulted from two concurrent events: 1) the timely 2023 reauthorization of the Farm Bill and 2) the recognition that Louisiana small- and mid-sized producers have a voice that continues to be unheard by those in power! Accordingly, Sprout and FPAC began imagining what a Louisiana statewide response to the 2023 Farm Bill could look like. The questions guiding this work include: What would Louisiana small- and mid-sized producers say if they got to write the Farm Bill? What kinds of resources do producers need in order to self-advocate and organize collectively across the state? How do we seize the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization as an opportunity to begin building statewide producer power? In light of these questions, we divided the project into the following 3 buckets of work, which were completed in order:
Build the network: In order to convene and connect the network, we needed to create and establish infrastructure, secure resources, and share necessary knowledge. During this time Sprout and FPAC worked to secure grant funding to support this work. We also created and collected informational resources about the Farm Bill in this publicly accessible folder. We created a Farm Bill 101 webinar in English and Spanish, with the intention of creating highly-accessible information about complex policy. We established the Louisiana Food + Agriculture Change Network (LFACN) listserv and associated guidelines for engagement. We reached out to regional partners, such as the Louisiana Small-Scale Agriculture Coalition and its member organizations as well as the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, to assess interest in participating and ability to partner with us. Lastly, we spent significant time working to understand the landscape of national advocacy, in order to better understand how we, in Louisiana, fit within this work and how our voice can support or enhance existing national, high-capacity efforts already underway.
Connect the network: This period of work mostly consisted of convening a series of 6 listening sessions with producers around the state wherein producers would learn the basics of the Farm Bill and provide input in order to help develop a shared Louisiana vision for the next Farm Bill. We held these sessions in Southeast (in New Orleans, switched to virtual due to inclement weather), South Central/West (in Lafayette), Central (in Alexandria), Northwest (in Shreveport), and Northeast Louisiana (in Munroe), as well as a final virtual listening session for producers around the state who were not able to join in person. We were able to provide $20 stipends to each participating producer as a means to offset transportation costs and compensate them for their time/knowledge. Listening sessions included our Farm Bill 101 presentation, small breakout groups for producers to provide input, and a democratic voting process to ensure producer buy-in to the entire process. In total, 75 producers participated in these listening sessions. The LFACN listserv, which nearly all participating producers opted into, includes 170 of these producers and other in-state and national allies (e.g. advocates, service providers, etc.).
Move the network: Following listening sessions, FPAC and Sprout worked to synthesize what was heard throughout the state. The details of that synthesis are available below. With this information we have been able to engage in a number of actions to amplify this unified voice of Louisiana small- and mid-sized producers. These efforts include:
Communication via the LFACN listserv to give network members, including producers and allies, opportunities to continue to learn about and advocate for change throughout the Farm Bill reauthorization process. Communications on behalf of Sprout and FPAC were only sent to the listserv when action alerts and opportunities were deemed to be in alignment with statewide priorities determined during listening sessions.
Signing onto and amplifying national advocacy platforms in alignment with our priorities (see here for sign-on process). Platforms determined to be in alignment with Louisiana producer priorities include Farm Bill Law Enterprise, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. This strategic approach was chosen for two main reasons: 1) this is the first effort of its kind in Louisiana and we lack infrastructure to develop a robust platform (for example, national platforms range from several to over 100 pages long) and 2) national advocacy organizations typically begin Farm Bill organizing years in advance and have significant staff and funding capacity to engage in widespread and labor-intensive work. Sprout and FPAC determined that an important way we are able to give voice to Louisiana farmers and make an impact in the reauthorization process is by throwing support behind more resourced entities that are aligned with our priorities and, further, by identifying gaps in their platforms to be more inclusive of Louisiana producer needs.
Our most intensive effort to date to ensure Louisiana producer needs were heard by those in power was a DC fly-in in June 2023. Sprout and FPAC brought 6 producers from around the state of Louisiana to Washington DC to talk with Louisiana’s Congressional representatives in the House and Senate. Over 2 days these producers met with 4 Lousiana House Representatives and 1 Louisiana Senators. During these meetings they were able to tell their legislators about statewide priorities detailed below. These efforts ensure that our representatives know what small- and mid-sized producers need and also help to build long-term relationships between farmers and those who represent them.
Sprout and FPAC continue to pursue funding and develop plans to build the LFACN network and amplify LA producer voices in the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization process and beyond. We are confident that we are building models that we can replicate in future reauthorization processes, as well as lasting relationships that will result in greater organization of LA producers.
Our Methods- How We Brought Individual Voices Together
For transparency, we want to offer details about how we collected farmer input during listening sessions, how we synthesized this information into a series of statewide priorities, and how we compared our priorities to national platforms in order to determine alignment. To reiterate, we completed 6 listening sessions and signed onto 4 platforms including the platforms of Farm Bill Law Enterprise, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives
First, we audio-recorded all listening session breakout groups where producers offered input about Farm Bill needs and priorities. See here for the facilitation guide used, which includes all questions asked.
Then we reviewed all recordings and extracted producer issues and positions from feedback given. Issues are problems or challenges described by producers. For example, an inability to access crop insurance is an issue for producers in our network. Positions are more closely related to how producers want to address or solve issues. For example, Louisiana producers would like to see improvements to the crop insurance system so that it is an accessible risk management strategy for small-scale and diversified specialty crop producers within the state.
Once we had coded all input as issues and positions we then consolidated that into 7 major priority areas, with issues and positions embedded within. See the ‘Findings’ section below for a complete summary of priorities.
Lastly we compared our priority areas, inclusive of issues and positions, to those of select national platforms (i.e. the Native Farm Bill Coalition, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Natural Resource Defense Council, Farm Bill Law Enterprise, and Federation of Southern Cooperatives). A map of these national platforms can be found here. We then compared Louisiana priorities and positions to the mapped national platforms. If we determined 50% general alignment and no misalignment on major priorities, we contacted the national entity to extend our state-level support to their work, or essentially “sign on” to their platform.
Findings
The following are the 7 major priority areas identified through the listening session process. There is much more complexity and detail to each of these priority areas. We included these details in our assessment of alignment with national platforms and our talking points for the DC fly-in. Please be in touch with our team if you would like more detailed analysis and information; our contact information is listed at the beginning of this report.
Fair competition and increased opportunities for small farm business owners: “USDA should be serving small-scale farmers as much as large-scale and commodity producers”
Louisiana small and mid-sized farmers have not been adequately supported by the USDA. Instead, they see the supports that they need going to corporations and industrial farmers. Louisiana producers are simply tired of not getting the support that they need and seeing other large-scale producers get more than their fair share. How are these smaller producers supposed to survive let alone thrive under these conditions?
Racial Equity and Discrimination: “Equitable sharing of resources doesn’t exclude anyone, it improves all outcomes for all people and practitioners”
Louisiana producers recognize that historical and ongoing racial discrimination prevent our state from developing a just and sustainable food system that benefits farmers and eaters alike. We need a Farm Bill that provides opportunities for all producers, especially those who have been denied access to programs for centuries.
Land Access: Agricultural land is too expensive. Currently, prices box everyone but those who inherit land or have other generational/off-farm wealth in Louisiana. Without access to land, a majority of farmers cannot enter into farming let alone scale up or invest in their business/land long-term. We are also losing farmers to other states where land and farming opportunities are more accessible. Barriers to land access are especially high for socially disadvantaged and urban producers.
400 million acres of farmland are expected to change hands in the next decade in the United States. This could be a huge opportunity to build a just and sustainable national food system consisting of hundreds of thousands of vibrant small farm businesses, or an emerging crisis of increased corporate consolidation and land-grabbing.
Climate Change, Conservation, and the Role of Small-Scale Producers: Louisiana producers are on the climate frontlines. Our farmers are ready and willing to do all they can to mitigate and adapt to climate change but at present, they lack the resources to do just that. Producers in every region of the state expressed a distinct lack of access to information about climate change and how to adapt to/mitigate impacts.
On-the-ground Updates to USDA Functionality- Agency Structure and Culture: “We need a mass retooling of USDA programs so that it doesn’t feel like small-scale and diversified farmers are sneaking in. Rather that the United States Department of Agriculture recognizes food producers as valid users of their programs”
Louisiana producers shared many stories of USDA agents and offices not understanding the needs of small and mid-sized producers and often being unwilling to help these producers. These producers often had to prove to agents that they were eligible for programs, increasing the burdens to these producers to participate in programs. Producers spend large amounts of time and effort to understand programs that they almost never are able to participate in.
Crop Insurance Crisis: Crop insurance has subsidized commodity and large-scale agriculture for nearly a century, turning a low-/no-profit industry into a highly profitable industry for some. Unfortunately, crop insurance is effectively inaccessible to small-scale producers in Louisiana. Only 2 producers with our network have been able to access crop insurance at any point. Nearly all producers in the listening session mentioned a desire to have crop insurance. Without crop insurance and other robust risk management strategies, small-scale producers and the resilience of our entire burgeoning food system is in jeopardy.
Accessory Industries- Seizing Opportunities for Louisiana: There are myriad businesses that LA farmers rely upon to get access to the materials they need to be the best producers possible. Louisiana is missing a massive sustainable economic development opportunity by not supporting the development of these accessory industries in our state. For example, producers in LA source compost from as far as Vermont.
Final Thoughts
We at Sprout and FPAC are proud of what has been accomplished with these statewide efforts. Particularly inspiring and exciting outcomes include: producer-to-producer relationship development; statewide relationship development and partnerships particularly in regions that often operate independently and with limited inter-regional coordination; increased coordination amongst service providers and advocates; increased sense of statewide community, shared voice, and power; deep connection and policy training for producers participating in the DC fly-in; relationship development with policymakers that often overlook small- and mid-sized producers; relationship development with well-resourced national advocacy groups; broad base development and education around policy work and Farm Bill reauthorization specifically. We are excited about what is to come and are enthusiastic about the traction that we have received to date. In the future we are looking forward to deepening connections between producers across the state, continuing to develop network infrastructure and shared knowledge, and engaging in actions that are matched with our network capacity, needs, and desires!
We are deeply appreciative to the producers that have trusted us with their stories, have shared freely of their precious time, and continue to imagine and dream of a better food and farm system for Louisiana. Whatever we can do to demystify the policy process, please let us know and thank you for growing the food, flowers, proteins, and seeds that feed our families and our souls!
