Farm Policy
I have always supported sustainability of our food supply and searching for new and innovative ways to maintain it. For this reason, I believe we must focus our efforts on maintaining the farm land we have and increasing it where possible. The fact that red barns are becoming an extinct species in Wisconsin speaks volumes to the decline of the family farm in our state.
Every family farm that is sold to residential housing developers or agribusiness conglomerates takes our nation one step further away from the long term sustainability of our food supply. Because the economic hardship faced by small family farmers is largely responsible for the decrease in farmland, I will promote policies that benefit family farmers who are struggling to survive.
Co-op Revitalization
The mutually-beneficial nature of co-ops make them an essential component of the revitalization of family farms at the most basic level. In order to utilize co-ops to maximum effect, I propose:
Providing direct subsidies to co-ops to be used toward the purchase of equipment, feed and other material by their members.
Creating a national association of co-ops with direct access to the Department of Agriculture.
Federal grants to repair and replace aging co-op depots and storage facilities, as well as funding for technological advancements such as electronic information dissemination and internet business networking.
Fair Competition
One of the most important issues I have heard from small farmers in the 5th Congressional District is the discrepancy between the price of raw milk as sold by the farmers to wholesale middlemen and the eventual cost at retail. The bulk of profits derived from the retail sale of milk products are captured by milk distributors. The wholesale milk distribution business is dominated by two or three large companies, who negotiate with small dairy co-ops and large agribusinesses over the price of the raw milk.
Large agribusiness has a distinct advantage over family farms in these negotiations, an advantage made more unfair by the fact that many large dairy factory farms are already owned by subsidiaries of the milk distribution wholesalers. In order to reform this system and introduce competition back into the dairy industry, I propose:
Undertaking anti-trust investigations against milk wholesalers to create more local competition and greater outlets for small farmers. As it stands, the milk wholesalers have increased in size largely by purchasing local dealers. I would support the reverse of this process.
Encouraging price supports at the producer level, in addition to capping the percentage difference between raw milk prices and retail prices, which will protect both the small dairy farmer and the consumer.
Offering small dairy co-ops the opportunity to sell their milk at the same price as the largest milk factory farm within a 50 mile radius.
Promote Cost Effective, Environmentally Sustainable Best Practices
Most of our current farm policies do little to encourage sustainable agriculture or to maintain the viability of family farms. Instead, current agriculture policy is largely based on maintaining the lowest retail price possible for food, which is both short-sighted and harmful in the long run.
Our farm policies should not reward environmentally hazardous and production-line factory farm practices that increase the risk of global pandemics such as swine flu. We need policies that reward good behavior and punish destructive practices, which means easing the tax burden for all farms under a certain head-count and providing tax incentives for farms that engage in environmentally sound and sustainable practices. I also support the expansion of Community Supported Agricultural programs to benefit consumers who want to support sustainable agriculture.