Today, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee John Boozman released a proposal for the Farm Bill. After its release, Earthjustice Legislative Director for the Healthy Communities Program Ranjani Prabhakar issued the following statement:

“Senator Boozman’s proposal fails to address the realities farmers across the country face amid a changing climate. It pales in comparison to Senator Stabenow’s bipartisan approach that expands farmer access to programs and practices that lower emissions, prioritizes soil health and clean water, ensures our forests are managed with science, and safeguards bedrock environmental protections.

“This partisan proposal fails to build on the success of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate guardrails, unjustifiably proposing to reallocate the funding for other purposes. Despite the success of climate-smart agriculture practices in lowering emissions, protecting yields, reducing input costs, and enhancing farmer resilience, this short-sighted proposal makes countless family farms more vulnerable to extreme heat, flooding and droughts.

“In addition to undermining our farms, the proposal undercuts our national forests as a natural climate solution, including poison pill provisions that only serve to line the pockets of the logging industry and cut out community input from forest management decisions.

“This shouldn’t be controversial. These programs are wildly popular with both rural and urban farmers from all political persuasions. We remain firmly opposed to a Farm Bill that undermines our progress in protecting our environment, empowering farmers, and incentivizing sustainable farming practices. We urge Senator Boozman to work with Senator Stabenow on a bipartisan Farm Bill that invests in farmers, forests, sustainability, and our planet.”