Center for Rural Affairs releases 2023 farm bill platform

After months of gathering feedback from farm and rural leaders across the Midwest, the Center for Rural Affairs has released its 2023 farm bill platform.

The platform outlines opportunities for improvement within working lands conservation, access to USDA programs, crop insurance, rural entrepreneurship, and small meat processing.

"These recommendations will protect and improve the Conservation Stewardship and Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance programs," said Kayla Bergman, policy manager for the Center. "They will also improve access to USDA programs for underserved producers, better serve organic producers or those using cover crops looking to purchase crop insurance, and secure long-term support for small meat processors."

The farm bill priorities continue the Center's decades-long work of addressing the real needs of rural America, Bergman said.

"We want to make sure farmers, ranchers, and rural communities have access to farm bill programs and understand how they work," she said "This platform was developed after dozens of one-on-one conversations with agricultural producers, several round table discussions, a paper survey sent to nearly 5,000 individuals, and numerous conversations with organizations and individuals participating in U.S. Department of Agriculture programs."

The current farm bill expires on Sept. 30, 2023.

To read and download the Center's "A Farm Bill for Rural America: 2023 Farm Bill Platform," visit cfra.org/publications.