Chairwoman Stabenow Introduces Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act
U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act Monday. The bill allocates $39 billion in new spending to “keep farmers farming, families fed, and rural communities strong.”
The Senate's version of the proposed Farm Bill has been proposed in the final weeks of the Congressional “lame-duck” session, and just before Chairwoman Stabenow retires from the Senate at the end of the current session.
What is in store for Hemp Production in the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act?
The proposed language includes a new definition and regulatory framework for industrial hemp (including the concepts from the Industrial Hemp Act!) which seek to benefit the hemp industry by reducing regulatory requirements and hoops for farmers to jump through who wish to grow industrial hemp.
Regarding hemp, the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act:
Updates the definition of hemp to include Total THC (including THCA)
Specifies the testing procedure required for total THC levels
Violations related to total THC (including THCA)
Includes new definition of industrial hemp
Provides for the designation of the type of production on licensee application "industrial hemp" or "hemp for any purpose"
For those who select only industrial hemp, no background check will be required
Provides for testing of industrial hemp "using relaxed regulatory requirements, which may include—
visual inspections;
performance-based sampling methodologies;
certified seed, if the applicable State or Indian tribe is participating in the pilot program; or
any other similar procedure, as approved by the Secretary, when developing sampling plans for any producer that elects to be designated as a producer of only industrial hemp
Includes a 5-year ineligibility clause for a producer with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, who produces a crop of hemp that is inconsistent with that license
Strikes authority for corrective action plans
The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act also establishes a certified seed pilot program:
Authorizes Secretary to establish certified seed pilot program in up to 5 states or Indian Tribes
Certify varieties of seeds bred to produce plants with a total THC concentration of not more than 0.3 % on a dry weight basis.
Requires regulation of seed vendors
Allows application my producer for exemption of testing if part of pilot program
"hemp producer that produces hemp using a variety of seed certified ...may submit to the applicable State Department of Agriculture, or equivalent Tribal government agency, an application for an exemption from the testing requirements"
If the exemption is approved, it shall expire 3 years after the date of exemption
but producers can reapply for the exemption after its expiration
Impact on State or Tribal Law:
Provides that nothing preempts or limits any state or Indian trial law that regulates any activity involving hemp or hemp products, including with respect to the production, manufacture, or sale of hemp or hemp products
How does the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act impact broader agriculture?
The Senate's version of the Farm Bill focuses largely on supporting farmers and food assistance programs, and responding to the impacts of and preventing climate crises.
Broadly, the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act proposes to:
Strengthen the farm safety net with $20 billion in new resources to
increase reference prices; make crop insurance more affordable; support
beginning, underserved, and small farmers and ranchers; lay the groundwork
for a moonshot in agriculture research; and provide immediate assistance to
producers impacted by severe weather and declining revenue. The Rural
Prosperity and Food Security Act focuses assistance on the farmers and
ranchers with dirt under their fingernails and not billionaires and foreign
investors.
Help families make ends meet by investing $8.5 billion in new
resources that put food on the table. It increases access to fruits and
vegetables; improves the ability of military families, seniors, and college
students to access SNAP; and supports people on their path to self-sufficiency while cracking down on bad actors.
Improve the quality of life in rural communities by investing $4.3
billion in new resources in the small towns that farmers and more than 66
million Americans call home. It improves rural health care, childcare, and
education; creates good-paying jobs; expands access to high-speed internet;
and lowers costs for families and businesses.
Tackle the climate crisis by using the resources in the Inflation Reduction Act to increase funding for popular, voluntary conservation programs that farmers and ranchers want, use, and need. These programs pull carbon out of the air and place it in the soil for healthier farms and a more resilient future.
Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act's focus on sustainable agriculture
The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act rolls out many programs that seek to assist farmers who grow specialty and organic crops, support small farmers, and increase access for consumers to more fruits and vegetables. By enabling more crop farmers to succeed, invest in more sustainable growing practices (such as organic methods), and increase access to plant-based foods such as whole fruits and vegetables, the proposed bill demonstrates a commitment to healthier methods of agriculture and a healthier food system that is both climate-friendly and climate-resilient.
The Senate's Farm Bill offers support for small, specialty crop, and organic farmers and consumers by:
Supporting growth in the organic agriculture industry, protecting the integrity of
the organic seal, boosting support for certification cost-share, and expanding
technical assistance and market opportunities for existing organic farmers and
those just getting into the business.
Supporting small farms by creating an Office of Small Farms to advance small
farm policy and setting aside dedicated funding for popular, voluntary
conservation practices, while also improving support for underserved and
veteran farmers.
Strengthening support for specialty crops by including the first ever specialty crops crop insurance subtitle, ensuring that specialty crop farmers have a voice in policy decisions, accelerating the development of new technology through dedicated funding, and doubling investments in successful programs like the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and the Specialty Crop Research Initiative.
Improving access to Whole Farm and Micro Farm insurance policies providing new insurance options for specialty crop producers who lacked or had limited options available to them. The improvements help small and diversified producers by increasing financial incentives for insurance companies and agents to sell these policies, facilitating data access, and streamlining underwriting processes.
Increasing access to fruits and vegetables by expanding the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (Double-Up Bucks), Produce Prescriptions, and access to fruits and vegetables at food banks.
The Senate Farm Bill also invests in climate-friendly agricultural practices:
Brings all the climate-smart agriculture funding from the Inflation Reduction Act into the Farm Bill and maintains its focus on addressing the climate crisis. This funding will bolster the programs that put cash into farmers’ pockets to put popular, voluntary conservation practices to work on farms and ranches, and it continues the historic investment in clean, renewable energy to tackle the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas emissions on and off the farm.
Permanently authorizes conservation programs for the first time and increases access to climate-smart agriculture and conservation resources.
Makes addressing the climate crisis a specific goal of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program for the first time.
Places a new focus on reducing methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and sets aside funding for small farms.
Improves the Conservation Stewardship Program by adding a new focus on transitioning farmers to be more resilient to the changing climate, reducing greenhouse gases, and building soil health.
Establishes climate hubs to develop local tools and resources to address the climate crisis.
Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act Full Bill Text
Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act Bill Summary
More context for the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act
The Senate's newly proposed Farm Bill comes in the final weeks of the "lame-duck" congressional session, and just before Chairwoman Stabenow's retirement. The proposed version of the bill includes the Industria Hemp Act language which our Chief Legislative Strategist, Courtney N. Moran, LL.M., played a key role in drafting and lobbying for the introduction of and inclusion in the base House and Senate Farm Bills. This language can be traced to the Industrial Hemp Act that Moran continues to advocate on behalf of.
Agricultural Hemp Solutions' Chief Legislative Strategist also played a large role in co-authoring the language in the 2018 Farm Bill which federally legalized the production of hemp. To learn more about the work that Moran did to secure the inclusion of that language, watch the video below: