Rebecca Schewe and Rick Walsh publish policy brief on the farm crisis
Rebecca Schewe from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and Rick Walsh from Syracuse University recently published a policy brief with the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs Center for Policy Research. Titled “The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Deepen the Farm Crisis, Not Solve It,” the brief addresses how the bill’s changes to agricultural subsidy programs will disproportionately benefit large farms and non-farming investors, accelerating farm loss and consolidation across the United States. The authors propose four reforms policymakers should enact to prevent these devastating consequences, including tightening payment limits and closing loopholes, reinstating income caps, narrowing and enforcing “actively engaged in farming” requirements, and ensuring new base acres go to small and beginning farmers.