Tell Congress: Pass the Farm Bill

Today, the halls of Congress are empty as legislators return to their districts for a six-week recess. They left Washington without acting on a new Farm Bill. As a result essential conservation programs were left without any authorization, while farmers who are left in limbo consider selling for development. This is unacceptable. We need your help. The development pressures on America’s farmland and the conservation challenges family farmers face do not take a break. If Congress does not pass a new Farm Bill when they return in September, public programs that have helped permanently protect more than 16,000 farms covering nearly 3 million acres are at risk of being lost. A further delay means the funding for successful conservation programs that protect farmland and natural resources might only be available for one more year.    The clock is ticking. Congress only has nine session days planned for September, and the Farm Bill expires on the 30th. We have come too far this year to allow the Farm Bill to stall and to let funding to protect farm and ranch land slip away. We need your help to get the bill across the finish line. Join American Farmland Trust in sending more than 10,000 letters to members of Congress during the August recess, supporting a finished Farm Bill. The Farm Bill is the single largest federal investment in private lands conservation. Programs to protect farmland, improve water quality and provide wildlife habitat all come from Farm Bill conservation programs.  Act now. Be one of the 10,000 voices demanding Congress to finish the Farm Bill when they return to Washington, D.C. in September! More than ever, we need a new, comprehensive Farm Bill that reinvests in farmland conservation, that provides sound conservation practices and that helps farmers stay on the land. There is too much at stake to allow Congress to simply turn its back on these important programs. Please send letters to your Senators and Representative today and help American Farmland Trust reach our goal of 10,000 letters this month! Thank you for all that you do to support farmland conservation in your community and across the nation.  Sincerely, Jeremy Peters Director of Federal Policy American Farmland Trust   ©2013 American Farmland Trust. All Rights Reserved. 1200 18th Street, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 202 331 7300

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