98th ESA Annual Meeting (August 4 -- 9, 2013)

August 03 - 09, 2013

WK 54

What the Farm Bill Means to an (Agro)Ecologist

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) works for sustainable agriculture systems, in which farms are understood as ecosystems. In this workshop, staff from UCS will present the science behind its vision for a “healthy” food and farm system, and examine specific federal farm policies that either help or hinder application of agroecological practices. The Farm Bill is a trillion dollar piece of federal legislation that largely shapes the U.S. agriculture and food system, and must be renewed by Congress every five years. The science behind agroecological practices - such as cover crops and crop rotations - often receives little attention within the Farm Bill, but there are ways this can be changed. In order to amplify agroecological practices, we will explore specific programs and policies in the Farm Bill, as well as government programs that could increase funding for research to better understand and refine agroecological practices. This section of the workshop will be designed to be open for questions and discussion in order for participants to learn from each other. Lastly, we will explore specific opportunities for participants to become actively engaged in the policy process. While the timing of Farm Bill reauthorization is currently in flux, we anticipate this discussion being relevant whether the legislation is still before Congress or ripe for implementation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.